


Home and Other Stories

by Tat_Tat



Series: Steven Universe Fics in 2015 [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Complete, Episode Related, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-19 20:44:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 101
Words: 26,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3623694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tat_Tat/pseuds/Tat_Tat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's what she hopes for.</p><p>A collection of gen Steven Universe drabbles and one-shots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lapis l Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here is my repository of one shots and drabbles I have written for Steven Universe. These are all gen themed. There may be slight pairings but they are not the main focus. These are character driven or touch on moments from the show. 
> 
> The drabbles I wrote episode by episode on Thursdays go just by the episode name. Fics marked by character name are outside of that collection and are focused on that character.
> 
> If I knew beforehand that I would keep writing these I would have organized this better. Sorry! I hope the chapter titles help in guiding you. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!

Home is tall, strong, geometric towers glinting under the suns. Home is quiet. There are no wars, no expectations. She is left alone in peace.

Home is a memory she held in her heart when the ship departed. Home is clutched tight against her chest, to help her remember herself when all she can do is cast reflections and be told what to do. 

Home is so far away that her water wings dissipate as soon as her bare feet touch Homeworld. 

Home isn’t the same. The towers are too strong, too tall, blocking the suns. Home isn't quiet. They want answers.

Home is another prison.


	2. Lapis l Sky and Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt bad writing sad Lapis fics so I decided to write a happy ending for her. This is an AU where instead of fusing with Jasper, Lapis decides to fight alongside the Crystal Gems. Afterwards, she stays with them and there is a lot to adjust to.

Gems don’t need sleep, but when Lapis moved in with them, Steven insisted on bunk beds. (He said he always wanted them.) There were no available rooms in the Crystal Temple, and while Pearl was indignant about it and Amethyst simply didn’t care, Steven and Garnet agreed that if Lapis was going to stay, she needed a space of her own, however small.

Greg made the bunkbeds, but in the end, only Steven used them. Some nights he draped covers and bed sheets from the top bunk, creating a curtain over the bottom bunk. He called it a “bed fort.”

Pearl was confused by this. “Steven, I’m impressed by your precautions, but this fortress won’t keep anything out.”

“It’s not that kind of fort,” Steven tried to explain. Pearl didn’t understand it, but she would smooth out the creases in the sheets and soon took it as an opportunity to teach Steven battle tactics.

Amethyst got it right away and on bed fort days, she would move her junk in, playing videogames and watching movies under the covers with Steven, Lion, and anyone else who dropped in. Lapis had only joined them once, even though that bottom bunk was technically hers. Once was enough-- she didn’t like sitting in a pile of popcorn kernels and bread crumbs, and she was perturbed to find a fork poking out from the bedsheets. 

Cleanliness was the one-- and so far the only-- thing she and Pearl could agree on. Pearl was still aloof towards her, always crossing her arms, pointed nose in the air. Garnet was hard to read. She seemed okay with Lapis, but she didn’t trust her either. Garnet trusted Steven’s intuition. Amethyst had been wary, but she was the least judgemental of the three. Lapis supposed that was because they could relate to each other. They had both done bad things, but that didn’t necessarily make them bad. However, Lapis found Amethyst too reckless and scrappy to be around for long periods of time.

Lapis preferred her own company. The bunk bed had been a kind gesture, but even as a bed fort it didn’t grant the same seclusion she needed-- that she had grown used to. When Lapis wanted to be alone, she stepped out onto the beach and walked towards the waves, allowing the currents to swallow her whole. There were no gems under the sea or humans to disturb her thoughts, only their remnants: worn fisherman's boots, fishing reels, the lime green debris of Peridot’s ship. She would sink into the depths of the deep sea, and all would be quiet. The angler fish lumbered past, light flickering like the dying filament of a lightbulb.

 

Sometimes, being alone wasn’t enough. If Pearl and Amethyst couldn't find her in the ocean, Garnet would say she left the planet. 

Lapis didn't feel like she was ever gone for long, three days at most, less than a blink of an eye for gems. But the past two times, on her return, Garnet had been the one to welcome her back, and also to confront her.

“You were gone.”

Lapis’ eyes shifted. “Did you need me?” she asked, voice thick and defensive.

“No, but you didn’t tell us.”

Lapis shrugged. “It’s not like I have to-- you knew I was gone. Where I was. When I would come back.”

“You could at least give your teammates that courtesy to know you were going.” Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder, and at first, Lapis moved away, annoyed. Garnet held her ground, kept Lapis in place. The gesture wasn’t condescending, but concern. 

There was a lot to adjust to.

She wasn't used to friends, to being able to choose her teammates. She wasn't used to having anyone to rely on. She was used to war, not fry bits and fish pizza, the luxury of playing video games all day, and watching television rather than being the one to replay images and events. It was peaceful here, and it reminded her of Homeworld: before the war, before she was given orders to go to Earth. 

She didn't know when it all started to feel normal, when she started leaving notes before she flew off. When Pearl looked at her and not over her, and mentioned, offhandedly, that the house was cleaner since she’d moved in and started helping out with chores. Amethyst didn't try her patience as much, and they both loved fart jokes, much to Pearl’s chagrin. 

She felt warm, watching the sun turn plum and pink as it fell. Steven was sitting beside her, oddly quiet, and Lapis breathed in the salt air, closing her eyes, exhaling softly. 

“You know, this planet isn’t as bad as I thought.”

Steven noded, eyes wide. “But what about Homeworld?”

She leaned back, her elbows sinking into the pink sand. “I think this is home now.”


	3. Crystal Gems and Greg l Kindergarten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friend and I were trying to figure out why Steven doesn't go to school and this is what we came up with.

"You want to send him WHERE?" Pearl shrieked.

"Uh, kindergarten?" Greg replied nervously. Gem-human relations always made him feel awkward. He wondered what he had said wrong, and if he could make it right.

He looked down at his fingers, and Steven behind Pearl, playing ball with Amethyst (she was the ball). "It's September, y'know. I have to enroll him." He scratched the back of his neck. "Oh, come on, Pearl. It will only be a couple hours a day." 

Pearl wasn't listening. She knew Rose had told Greg about Gem history but she never thought she would share that despicable part of their past. And why did Greg think it was a good idea to send Steven there? 

"Absolutely not," she said, an edge of finality in her voice, crossing her arms. She spun en pointe, picking Steven up and warping back into her room angrily. 

Amethyst shifted out of the ball form, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know what her problem is. Kindergarten isn't that bad."

"Thanks, Amethyst," Greg said awkwardly, sensing he was missing something.


	4. Crystal Gems and Greg l they grew up too fast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gems age based on how they feel. I think, even if they were human, Rose's death would have affected their emotional states the same way.

Pearl was a little taller now, and her hair sleeker and shorter. She was paler and unsure.

Garnet had always been tall, but she had grown wider, sturdier. She was quieter too, while Amethyst was louder. She didn’t fit into Pearl’s arms anymore. Pearl had always scolded Amethyst and she never exactly listened, but recently she had become more defiant and her words were laced with the emotional venom that possesses teenagers.

Greg was the only one who noticed.


	5. Mayor Dewey l Dare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mayor Dewey before he was Mayor Dewey. When he was just "Bill".

The cool kids dared Bill to hop the fence. They said everyone was doing it, and then, when his knees knocked together they laughed and called him a wuss. 

The words hit him in the chest, because he felt like they were true. Bill still slept with a nightlight on and a stuffed animal, and last night he had wet the bed (but they didn’t need to know any of that, the cool kids had enough ammo). He also had a fear of pointing fingers, which made his father proud because that was a sign that he would grow up to be a politician. 

His father wouldn’t be happy if he found out he was trespassing on the beach. Everyone knew the beach was forbidden. Gated off, with two signs that said, “Keep off Beach” and “Please.” No one knew who put up the fence or the signs, and there were rumors that there was a murder there on the beach, and the reason why it wasn’t exploited for tourism was because it was haunted.

But that didn’t make sense to Bill at all. Although he didn’t like ghosts, he knew that a lot of people would pay to visit a haunted beach. 

He struggled to climb up the fence, unathletic, and his knuckles stiff, nearly paralyzed with fear. He sat on the top and stared down. The fall would be short but that’s not what he was worried about.

A few other kids had climbed the fence before him. All their stories varied, but most were scary. There was a crow that shouted, “NEVERMORE!” and cackled, or a kid that untied your laces and re-tied them together. A dark shadow with hammers for hands, or a slimmer, darker shadow that looked like a streak of lightning. 

The last unknown entity, even fewer had met. A giant woman dressed in white, her curls pink and soft like down feathers. The kids who ran into her were given cookies. Stale cookies, but it was the thought that counted.

Bill sincerely hoped that if he had to run into anything, it would be the giant woman.

The cool kids hollered at him from the other side, and in-between his fear of dying and his fear of being branded a coward, he jumped and chose to cross the forbidden beach. 

He ran as soon as his sandals hit the sand, squeezing his eyes shut. Just one loop around, that was all the cool kids had told him to do. He could do a lap, right? 

He turned the corner, passing the ominous statue staring out serenely towards the ocean. He opened his eyes, strangely curious. His sprint slowed, his mouth open. The adrenaline coursing through him began to wane as he slowly took steps towards the statue. 

He reached out to touch one of the curls etched in the stone when a voice pierced through the night.

“Stop.”

Bill jumped, eyes roaming over the beach for a hiding spot and the owner of the voice.

A sharp shadow stepped forward into the moonlight. It was a woman who looked the same age as the cool kids. Her hair was pink, but not curly. Her eyes were bright blue, like the morning ocean, and her skin was pale as powdered sugar, the moon illuminating it, making her shine.

“That is a piece of gem history you’re about to-- oh why do I even bother?” She rolled her eyes. “You’re a human. You don’t understand this. You didn’t even read the signs.”

“I-I can read!” Bill lamely defended.

The woman narrowed her eyes. “Then why did you trespass? Did the signs not say, ‘Keep off beach,’ and as an afterthought, ‘Please?’” She sighed dryly, the gem on her forehead glowing. She reached up and pulled a long pole from the gem, which Bill mistook for a rifle and promptly wet his pants.

He didn’t realize he had done it until he saw the disgust on the woman’s face. He crossed his hands over his front, blushing and embarrassed. It didn’t matter if he had crossed the fence now. He had wet his pants. It was something new to be teased about. 

“Ugh.” The woman’s upper lip curled, gently poking him back with the stick. “Let’s get this over with. Come on, back over the fence where you belong.”

Bill did as she asked, his mind in a daze, though why he wasn’t certain. 

The cool kids were absent when he jumped back on the other side of the fence. After the initial relief at that, he swiftly turned around, gripping the metal fence, rattling it. 

His face sunk in disappointment. The woman had disappeared. Like a figment, like a dream.

Like a ghost.


	6. Mayor Dewey l "The Hot One"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The tall one, the purple one, the hot one..."

He noticed her love of rules and orderly things right away. He bought a suit, he ran for mayor, and cleaned up his house. He could come up with campaign slogans and swift rebuttals during debates, but after he became mayor and approached the temple, he turned back, still speechless.


	7. Rose, Pearl, l Rose's Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back story on Pearl's favorite tree.

Before the tree, the ground was bare and crisp with volcanic ash. The entire valley looked like an apocalyptic wasteland, and Pearl was certain that nothing could grow here.

Rose disagreed.

Normally, Rose liked to watch nature make its own choices, but there was a sapling in her possession, and when she saw the valley, empty and full of possibilities, she knew it had to be planted there.

She chose the hilltop overlooking the valley, where the sun hit just right. It was a little before noon when Rose brought Pearl with her, the sun warm and gentle. 

Rose brought a small spade and made a show of rolling up her sleeves, despite wearing her usual white dress. Pearl watched her kneel down, beginning to dig a hole. Beside Rose was the sapling, floating in a pink bubble. Rose had kept the sapling safe in the bubble for years, waiting for the right moment to plant it. 

She hummed as she dug, and Pearl didn’t notice herself doing it, but she crouched down across from her, hands cradling her face as she watched Rose in awe. 

Rose looked heavenly, even with her rosy cheeks flecked with ash, and her dress covered in dust. She was up to her elbows in dirt and smiling, something Pearl couldn’t fathom. She appreciated the beauty of planting flowers and trees, but she didn’t like getting dirty.

Rose looked up and caught Pearl staring at her. Pearl blushed and Rose giggled, ushering her closer.

Pearl dutifully sat in front of Rose as she asked, Pearl's back to Rose's front, elated and confused by the request. Her heart danced and she wondered if something special would happen, but some part of her, the rational part, whispered that she had had those thoughts before.

She always had her hopes high when Rose imparted her secrets to Pearl, or in a moment like this, when the other gem was close enough that Pearl could smell Rose’s floral scent.

Rose’s arms were around Pearl, but not hugging her, the bubbled sapling hovering between Rose’s palms in front of Pearl. Rose gently lowered the plant into the ground and the bubble gave a soft pop, blinking out of existence. 

Then Rose’s hands pressed against Pearl’s and the pale gem thought she would implode any moment, bluer than a blueberry. Disgust overlapped her shyness as Rose took Pearl’s hands and sunk them into the loose dirt. Pearl bit her lip, fighting the compulsion to move. Rose calmly hummed behind her, the lilt of her voice vibrating against Pearl’s neck, sending shivers down her back.

Pearl was conscious of every second that Rose held her hands, moving them to throw dirt around the sapling, then patting the spot, softly compacting it. Rose released Pearl’s hands after that, taking her warmth with her. Pearl suddenly felt cold, and was still shaking when Rose stood up, smiling down at her.

“Can I ask you a favor, Pearl?”

“A-anything!” Pearl said quickly.

“Will you take care of this tree for me?” Rose asked. It wasn’t a favor, but a gift. Rose was careful not to imply so, aware that Pearl would refuse it.

Pearl came back to the valley every week with a watering can on her person. She braved the dirt, getting on her knees to pull the weeds that would spring around its trunk. It seemed an impossible task, growing anything in that barren valley, but the tree was resilient and eventually grew taller than Pearl. Many other plants followed its example, and each week the valley looked a little greener. Alive. Springing from the ashes.


	8. Peridot l The new hire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on this tumblr post:  
> http://brutusbuckeye.tumblr.com/post/114720939884/i-still-really-want-peridots-return-to-be-super

“The usual, please.” 

“And what exactly is the ‘usual’?” a familiar voice asked tersely. 

Steven’s eyes widened and he nearly jumped up the countertop. “Peridot!”

“You know her, Steven?” Sadie asked.

“Sh- she’s. . . “ Steven stopped, he didn’t want to worry Sadie.


	9. Mayor Dewey l Sword

He couldn't trust his son Buck with the sword. He wished he could. Then he wouldn't have to cross the beach, knock on the door, and feel the curious scrutiny of Pearl's gaze when she opened the door.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Greetings..." He realized he didn't know her name. "Citizen." 

"Do you need something?" Her hand rested on the door handle.

"Yes! I mean-- no." He responded a second too long, transfixed by her piercing gaze framed by long pink eye lashes. He remembered the sword in his hands and presented it to her. "This is yours?"

Pearl’s fingertips covered her gasp. “Where did you-- I thought Amethyst had. . .” Her words trailed off as she reached for the sword’s brass handle. There were symbols that only she could read running around the hilt. Mayor Dewey was relieved when she took it from him. It had felt heavy in his hands, but she held it single-handedly with charming grace.


	10. Peridot l Compassion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by this post:  
> http://accursedasche.tumblr.com/post/116370228029/peridot-periodot-is-associated-with-the-heart

Peridot didn’t like it when others touched her things, because they could -and they typically did-- break them.

The flask robotoids were mass produced, but they seemingly all carried their own personalities, or something like one. The small ones were clingy and liked to perch on her shoulders. The larger ones were diligent but slow and more easygoing than their smaller counterparts. It was too easy to forget that they were just drones, objects at her disposal. It was too easy to project one’s feelings onto the flask robotoids, so Peridot made it easier for herself, and chose not to feel.

She slipped up a lot. She flustered easily, overwhelmed by the workload her superiors drowned her in. She complained often. Other gems would ignore her rants, nodding and staring blankly over her shoulder, or like Jasper, push past her as soon as she opened her mouth.

The flask robotoids made no comment to her complaints, but they were good listeners that curled up in her lap as she cursed and typed. 

They trailed behind her like ducklings as she surveyed planets and responded to her call like carrier pigeons to places she didn’t have access to (yet). She would get worried and upset when they never came back. Her peers thought she was just agitated by setbacks.

Sometimes they were her only friends, making it harder to detach herself. She winced the first couple times she had to cut short their service to her. She would have fixed them; she wanted to, but it was more efficient to just make another, and she had a reputation to uphold as the most efficient of the Peridots. 

Anyone else would leave a damaged flask robotoid leaking silver fluid and twitching. And if Peridot couldn’t fix them, because she wasn’t allowed to, because it was pointless and inefficient, she could press her heel atop them and end their ‘suffering.’ 

“I have to do everything,” she said bitterly.


	11. Mayor Dewey l The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's obvious from how this starts out that I meant this as humor, but it got pretty serious towards the end. I really don't know what happened.

It was Steven’s idea to set Mayor Dewey up with Pearl. He noticed the way Mayor Dewey looked at the Crystal Gem and how he struggled to speak in her presence, and Pearl seemed lonely since Rose gave up her physical form.

“She’s not going to do it,” Mayor Dewey said with solid certainty, sweating profusely.

“Awww come on, you never even tried,” Steven said. “I’ll set you up.”

“She’s not going to do it,” Mayor Dewey said again, Steven again not listening, bounding out of his office.

Pearl didn’t shoot down the date, at least not initially. She was confused, raising an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. “‘Dinner?’ Steven, did you tell him I don’t eat?”

Steven pursed his lips in thought. “...I don’t think so.”

“Did somebody say. . . DINNER?!” Amethyst popped up from behind the couch.

An uneasy look crossed Steven’s face, seeing Amethyst ravenous and drooling. He should have known better, but he said, “Mayor Dewey wants to take Pearl out for dinner.”

“For some reason.” Pearl added. She knelt down and placed a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “Look, ah, I-- appreciate. . . this? It’s flattering, I suppose. . .” She bit her lip. She had been about to say that they were different species, but considering Steven’s parentage that was an invalid point to make.

“If Pearl doesn’t want to go, I’ll go! Free food. Free food!” Amethyst pumped her fists, already tasting the mashed potatoes and cheese in her mouth.

“That’s perfect.” Pearl nodded. “Amethyst will have dinner with Mayor Dewey.”

“I’m gonna clean out that restaurant.”

“Wait!!” Steven raised hands up, pouting. “Pearl! It has to be you!”

Pearl balked. “Why me?”

“Because!” Steven started, then paused, “there might be pie!”

Pearl uncrossed her arms, faint interest glinting in her eyes. “I do like pie.”

X

Pearl arrived in a gorgeous aquamarine dress past her knees with a sheer pastel blue overskirt that dusted her ankles. Seeing that she had taken the effort to dress up had made the date appear promising. Little did Mayor Dewey know the dress was Steven’s idea. Pearl had intended to go out wearing her usual outfit. 

He ordered a bottle of wine, hoping to loosen their nerves, mostly his. Pearl didn’t drink her wine, merely staring at it opaquely as she swirled it in the palm of her hand, enjoying the rich scent permeating from it before finally setting it down. Mayor Dewey frowned and was careful not to drink too much, although the temptation was there the more the night went on and became more awkward.

He was too shy to ask her questions about herself. He didn’t have a lot to talk about, and he didn’t want it to let slip out that he didn’t have a life outside of being the mayor of Beach City. Inadvertently, he did exactly that, for all he ended up talking about was the current state of affairs in the city and how he planned to appeal to the younger crowd this year. The election was coming around the bend, and while he had been unopposed thus far, anything could happen. He hoped he had ordered enough glowsticks.

Pearl played with her fork, nodding in between glancing out the window and her plate of food, which she did not eat.

She shot a look at the window. Amethyst’s face was pressed against the glass, pointing at her plate. She was mouthing, “Are you going to eat that?”

“Is something wrong?” Mayor Dewey asked, catching the look of consternation on her face.

“Goodness, no,” Pearl quickly responded-- too quickly, sinking Mayor Dewey's spirits deeper. 

The waiter returned to their table and Pearl asked for her un-touched food to be put in a to-go container. She had spotted pie on the menu and asked for a slice of strawberry rhubarb, and her boxed up food and a steaming piece of pie ala mode was placed in front of her five minutes later. In that gap between Mayor Dewey had coughed in his clenched hand, scratched his neck, and sweated more. He had tried to make conversation again but the most he did was raise his finger up, only to set his hand back in his lap again.

He watched Pearl from across the table, admiring her oval face, her strong nose, her skin as pale as the vanilla ice cream on her plate. She smelled sweet, clean, otherworldly. 

He wished she would talk more. He had caught snatches of her personality before, the few times she had gone into town, usually with Steven. Her voice as clear as wind chimes and her demeanor elegant. He noticed that she was resourceful, and when he was cowering from the strange monsters that came into Beach City, he had stolen glimpses of her fighting. She was truly graceful, and her ferocity both scared and compelled him towards her.

He knew it would never work for him like it had for Greg. Pearl was not like Rose. He had always dreamed of a night like this, taking Pearl to dinner, but if nothing more could come of it, he was content with that. He didn't need to possess her in order to love her.

Pearl caught him staring at her as she lifted the plate of pie up to her nose. She blushed slightly, setting the plate back down. 

"Why don't you eat it?"

"Gems don't eat," she explained crisply. She expected Mayor Dewey to become angry. Back when the humans used to worship the gems and leave tributes, they reacted negatively to the truth.

The politician nodded, confused, but understanding. "Then why did you order it?"

"I like how food smells," she admitted, glancing at the pie. The smell of crisp buttery crust wrapped around sugar and honey and berries wafted towards her, and she breathed deeply.

Mayor Dewey closed his eyes and breathed in too.

Pearl stopped. "Do you want it?"

His eyes snapped open. "A-are you sure?" he stuttered.

"Yes. It would be a waste not to eat it, wouldn't it?" She pushed the plate towards him, averting her eyes as he ate. Amethyst's face was still pressed to the window, shooting a glare at Pearl. She could have put that pie in a to-go box for her too.

The table was cleared and a check was paid. He offered to drive her back home and she laughed but agreed. On the drive to the temple she commented in astonishment at the primitive technology that was his campaign van. Mayor Dewey saw an opening and asked her what technology was like at home.

She licked her lips, hesitant to answer, but the pride for her culture made her speak. A lot of it went over his head. Okay. All of it did, but he hung on every word.

"Sounds like a high fantasy novel," He thought to himself, wishing she could show him the places she talked about. The Lunar Sea Spire in particular sounded beautiful and when he half jokingly asked if she would take him there, he instantly regretted it. A frown pulled at her once ecstatic smile.

"It's gone now," she said, forlorn.

He wanted to place an arm over her shoulder and comfort her right then. Not to advance the relationship they lacked, but to be there for her. He was incompetent sometimes, and if he was honest, he didn’t always know what he was doing, but Dewey cared about every resident in Beach City. And while Pearl wasn’t a native, she had lived here longer than him. He just wanted to reassure her, to see her smile again like earlier. Not just as someone who has a crush on her, but as the mayor too.

They said nothing else the rest of the drive, but for once the silence wasn't stilted or awkward. It was peaceful, if a little sad. He caught her staring out the window, towards the stars , and he started to wonder which direction was her home. 

He wished he could drive her there, but his van was obsolete and all he could do was drop her off at the beach.


	12. Amethyst and Pearl l Just right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by this fanart:  
> http://sleepingjuliette.tumblr.com/post/116610473584/just-this-once-though

Sometimes when Garnet was busy and Steven was asleep, Amethyst would enter Pearl’s room. She would summon her whip, cast it like a reel, and finding structure amid the falls, vault herself upwards like a bungee cord.

It was convenient how Pearl’s room was right above hers. She always arrived unannounced, surprising Pearl. It wasn’t that Pearl was surprised by Amethyst’s presence, but that Amethyst had a knack for interrupting Pearl at delicate times, while she was rearranging her swords, or when she was in mid-pirouette, lost in her dance and her thoughts. 

Once the initial surprise and agitation coursed through Pearl she relaxed, quiet. Amethyst would scuff the heel of her foot against the waterfall, arms crossed. 

“What do you want?” Pearl asked with a note of certainty. 

Amethyst pouted, averted her eyes, grumbled. Edged closer to Pearl. Pearl smirked. Amethyst hated that look, that “told you so” look that also doubled as that “I know what you want” look.

Amethyst sighed, rolling her eyes, holding her arms out. When Pearl didn’t immediately respond, Amethyst opened and closed her hands, as if to say, “c’mon.”

Pearl giggled softly and bent down to pick up Amethyst. The purple gem was older now, and she got along with Pearl less than ever, but as she curled up in Pearl’s arms, they both found that she still fit just right.


	13. Amethyst and Pearl l Pillar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this some time ago. Found the first two paragraphs in a notebook and finished it off.

Garnet was a strong contender against Amethyst’s roughhousing. She was like a tower that Amethyst climbed and she didn't react to her teeth. Garnet was a pillar, better suited for dealing with Amethyst’s rough play, but Pearl was more fun. 

Pearl reacted. Pearl fought back. Her voice would raise to a sonorous pitch and her eyes would be wide and distraught. Amethyst lived to make the other gem exasperated, amused by her reactions. 

Even Pearl’s scolding was something Amethyst craved. She knew better, but she broke things, pretended to be careless because any attention was better than none. When the others ignored her antics (even Rose), too busy or too tired, Amethyst gravitated to Pearl. Pearl was never too busy to correct her, or too busy to teach Amethyst something new. Pearl was always there. Even when she really was busy she was always there.

So it was only natural that Amethyst would be there when Pearl was at her lowest. The young gem didn’t know the intricacies of her new comrades' hearts, only that she wanted to soothe them, Pearl especially, who tried too hard to hide that she was hurting inside. Amethyst comforted the other gem the only way she knew how: she shapeshifted into a cat, twining herself around Pearl’s ankles as she walked, nearly tripping the taller gem. She coaxed Pearl to sit and hopped in her lap. Pearl thought it was one of Amethyst’s games and wiped her eyes before stroking her. Amethyst plopped down, rolled over to expose her belly. Pearl petted her and Amethyst purred. The sound was comforting, like white noise or the ticking of a clock. 

Pearl relaxed, continuing to stroke her, softly scolding her, “You’ll have to move eventually, Amethyst.” 

They sat that way for hours, until Amethyst fell asleep and Pearl’s worries were placated. And even then, Pearl waited a moment more, enjoying Amethyst’s weight in her lap, grounding her.


	14. Malachite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Malachite gen. If Jasper and Lapis's story makes you uncomfortable please skip this chapter. 
> 
> Contains self harm. 
> 
> This song fits the fic I think:  
> https://youtu.be/GjmVW_cJt7w

Malachite knows she is a product of hatred. If Garnet is made of love, Malachite is made of malice, contempt, and fury. She is also sad, homesick for a home she has never seen. She is lonely, but wants to be left alone.

She’s a lot of things-- she’s complicated. Unbalanced. She’s made of two conflicting personalities that haven’t resurfaced in years. They lost themselves. Jasper’s wrath, her greed, and Lapis’s rigid tenacity: all of it evaporated within Malachite and blended together. She forgets sometimes that she is two and not one. She remembers this when the depression closes in on her, and to cope she blames the two that made her.

She doesn’t want to exist, but the alternative scares her. Despite the toxicity in her heart, permeating into the ocean, killing everything around her, she still wants to exist. She blames Lapis’s stubborn nature, Jasper’s pride.

Hurting herself relieves the tension. She started small, scraping her nails along her forearms, and when that wasn’t enough she slammed her body against rocky cliff sides or sank into the sea, forming a set of lungs in her body, letting herself drown.

She thought she was careful enough to only reach the edge, not go over it. When she finally slipped she scrambled and cried, afraid, and relieved. Clinging. Clinging to what? The next thought couldn’t form as she was split cleanly apart, her physical form disintegrating into seafoam, and the two gems caught in the sea current, unaware of what had happened.

X

Lapis wakes. It’s been centuries since she has just been Lapis. Lapis, not Lapis and Jasper. Lapis, not Malachite.

Just Lapis. Just herself.

Time passes strangely for gems. Fifty years is a blink of an eye to them, but a thousand years of isolation and torture still feels like infinity. It feels like seconds have passed since Jasper grasped her wrist and Lapis danced around her, and a thousand years wrapped up in the form of Malachite.

Lapis’s first instinct is to touch herself, to wrap her arms around herself, aware of her own physical form. How it’s separate and hers. Only hers.

Then she remembers Jasper and stands, head pounding, searching the beach for the other gem. She finds her in an instant, accidentally stepping on the stone. She yelps, the sharp point digging into her foot. Even in hibernation Jasper manages to her hurt her.

Lapis sinks to the ground, relieved that Jasper hasn’t woken yet. She dreads to think what Jasper would have done to her if she had woke first. Would she have sought out Lapis? Their reasons are similar and different, but the execution the same.

The stagnant gem sits across from her, nestled in the pink sand, completely vulnerable. Lapis breathes in and her water wings emerge from her back, sharp like talons. She wills the water to freeze. The icicles are long and pointed like spears and heavy like broadswords. The shadow cast over Jasper’s gem looks like the arms of jagged, leafless tree branches, raised threateningly.

She has second thoughts and reaches behind her, pressing her fingers against her intact gem. There was a time when her gem was cracked by those who feared her. She never understood them then, but here she is, doing the same thing out of desperation and loathing, for her own protection.

If she closes her eyes she can imagine the jagged edges and cracks on her teardrop gem. Her brows knit and she swallows her nerve, regathers her resolve, and aims the point of her ice blade at the red-orange gem laying on the sand before her.

She shouts as she drives the ice dagger forward and it sinks into the sand next to Jasper’s gem. Beads of perspiration run down the ice from the sun beating against Lapis’s back or her rage slowly dissolving. Frustrated tears form in the corners of her eyes. Her hands claw and dig into the sand. She stares at the stagnant gem and decides then what to do.

Pink sand falls between her fingers as she stretches out her hands to cup the gem. Heat emanates from the gem, burning her palms. It’s as if Jasper senses her, knows what she almost did.

Lapis must act fast.

She concentrates and forms a blue bubble, encasing Jasper. Her palms cool and she stares at the bubbled gem, her stomach swimming, hands numb. She feels an odd sense of wonder and curiosity. Jasper looks so tiny, trapped inside her gem and Lapis’s bubble. She’s no longer a threat, giving Lapis time to finally see Jasper for who she is, at her most basic.

She’s still Lapis’s prisoner, but no longer a burden. The tightness in her chest leaves, her, and she’s amazed and delirious by the sudden enlightening realization that she is finally free.

She can’t and doesn’t want to carry Jasper around with her. She holds Jasper carefully in her hands as she slips beneath the waves and sinks like a rock into the deep, deep sea.

Monstrous fish with glassy eyes and jagged teeth swim around her as she descends. She cannot see save when the occasional anglerfish lumbers past, flickering bioluminescent light from its antennae. She shapeshifts her body the lower she goes, adjusting to the pressure closing in on her, until her bare feet finally touch bottom. A flicker of curiosity almost tempts her to summon light to see the place she has chosen to leave Jasper. But what reason would she need? She’s ready to wipe her hands clean of Jasper. Why does she hesitate?

She pulls herself out of her thoughts before she changes her mind. She tells herself it’s because they were fused too long. The sudden pang of compassion scares her, so she hurries and forms a chain length made of ice. Ice to be firm, to prove her resolve. She fastens one end to the bottom of the sea, amid volcanic rock and sand, the other end catches fast to the bubble holding Jasper.

She slowly lets go, and for a moment, emits a soft beacon of light, watching the bubbled gem float up, but only as far as the chain allows. She feels herself begin to hesitate, raising her hand to Jasper. She stops before touching the bubble, and dims the light, swallowing them both in darkness.

She swallows, gritting her teeth, and kicks off. The ascent is slower than the descent, as if she's saying goodbye. It’s strange. She’s elated to be free, but as light begins to pour over her, pulling her out of the darkness, a pang of loneliness hits her chest, as if she’s leaving a piece of herself behind.


	15. Lapis and Jasper and Steven l Snowball Fights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Redemption AU Lapis and Jasper
> 
> Audio Version  
> http://tat-buns.tumblr.com/post/135688878495/reposting-the-audio-for-this-fic-so-theres-a#notes

The first few times were all right, if a little annoying. Like a mosquito buzzing in her ear, like the sun rousing her awake in the morning.

The snow fell three days ago and Steven introduced snow forts and snowball fights to the gems. For three days Lapis stalked around Jasper (and sometimes Pearl), a snowball in each hand, eyes alight with mischief. 

It happened when Jasper expected it, and when she least expected it. This morning Jasper woke up to a barrage of snowballs to the gut; this afternoon she slipped on the ice and four snowballs nailed her to the ground.

She wanted to say it wasn't fair, that Lapis had the advantage due to her affinity to water. But Jasper hated looking weak, and Lapis took advantage of that too.

Jasper looked over her shoulder constantly, paranoid of Lapis’s presence. The first day Jasper could predict her movements, could hear her footsteps in the snow. The next day Lapis realized this and began to use her water wings.

Jasper heard a giggle and whirled around like a ferocious lion. “Don’t you dare throw that snowball--”

She stopped. Steven was staring up at her with eyes the size of dinner plates. Guilt began to flood Jasper and her shoulders relaxed. “Oh, it’s just you, runt.”

A snowball hit the back of her head, and a giggle echoed over the beach, stirring the icicles hanging on the beach house. 

Steven rested a hand on Jasper’s knee. 

“We’ll get her,” he reassured, stars in his eyes.


	16. Homeworld Gems l Dance

“This isn’t in my job description,” Peridot complained.

Lapis took Peridot’s hand regardless and guided a arm around her waist. Lapis preferred her partners to lead, but Peridot’s knees were shaking and her hands were cold. She inwardly sighed, moving her feet in a simple box step. 

“Why do I have to do this?” Peridot muttered. 

“Because Yellow Diamond wants us to be prepared for anything,” Lapis briskly replied.

Peridot didn’t like violence. She wasn’t planning to fight. That’s what Jasper was for, to cover her. And Lapis, Lapis had just recently come from Earth. She knew the situation, but chose to keep her lips sealed. Yellow Diamond had advised Peridot and Jasper to keep an eye on her.

“I’m not suited for combat. Practice fusion with Jasper.”

“Fusion is for weaklings,” Jasper snorted from the sidelines.

“You’re both supposed to practice,” Lapis said sternly, twirling Peridot. Peridot yelped, and would have tripped if Lapis didn’t catch her hand, pulling her back into another basic box step.

“So tell me, Lapis. What is it we should be prepared for? Hmm?” 

Lapis’s withering stare matched Peridot’s perpetual sour look. Her lips tightened, and then, a bitter whisper:

“The Crystal Gems.”

“The what?” Peridot gawked.

Jasper perked up a little at the mention but said nothing, watching the two slender figures dance. Peridot’s movements were shaky but as the hour on the ship progressed, she became a little less clumsy. However, their practice was cut short when Lapis tried spinning the green gem again and made her dizzy.

Peridot joined Jasper, panting and holding her head. Jasper moved from her spot against the wall, about to leave. Lapis’s hand stopped her, outstretched.

“Your turn.”

Jasper laughed. “You have to be kidding me.”

“I’m not.” 

Her hand hung in the air, and Jasper knew she wouldn’t let her go unless she humored her. Jasper grabbed Lapis’s hand and squeezed. Her feline eyes watched Lapis’s face contort, holding back a shout. Lapis wanted nothing more than Jasper’s hand to leave hers but her grip was firm.

Lapis tugged Jasper back to the center of the room. At least, she thought, this time she wouldn’t have to lead- maybe. 

“Is this your first time too?” Lapis asked.

Jasper paused, unsure if she should claim inexperience or admit that she had tried the thing she hated. Peridot was still holding her head against the wall, and Lapis didn’t seem like she really cared about Jasper’s answer.

“No.” Jasper admitted. This didn’t surprise Lapis. They were the oldest on this ship, with more experience on the battlefield. Fusion was expected of them in their time. To Lapis, it appeared that fusion wasn’t used as much anymore, which explained Peridot’s inexperience.

“Good. You can lead then.”

Jasper grunted, mimicking Peridot’s movements from earlier. Unlike Peridot her steps were confident, but her footwork was slow and stiff, contrasting with Lapis’s graceful movements around her. She moved like water, finding every opening. She moved around Jasper’s body with ease. Jasper’s confidence broke and she began to stumble.

“You’re making me do all the work,” Lapis explained.

“We won’t need this.” Jasper dropped her hand like a soiled glove. “If there is any trouble. I’ll take care of it. Isn’t that right, Peridot?”

Peridot groaned and Jasper decided that meant yes.

“You can’t just rely on brute strength.” Lapis crossed her arms. She was tempted to rub her smarting hand, but refused to do so in Jasper’s presence.

“You act so high and mighty, brat.” Jasper’s eyes flashed. “But just watch when we land on Earth. The planet is lucky that Homeworld needs it. If Yellow Diamond hadn't given me orders...”

Jasper stopped, watching Lapis stiffen. “You’re hiding something.”

“I’m not.”

Jasper’s chest rumbled with laughter. “Sure, kid,” she said, though they both know Lapis was older.

Lapis was amazed that Jasper dropped the subject, expecting another impromptu interrogation. Jasper wasn’t surprised that Lapis didn't nag at her to practice fusion the rest of the trip, satisfied that she had intimidated Lapis into submission.

Peridot and Lapis continued to practice almost constantly. Peridot still had two left feet and no drive, but she was excellent at memorization. She learned Lapis’s patterns quickly. She made it look like she could actually dance, that she and Lapis were compatible. What gave her away was that the air didn't vibrate between them, and they never did successfully fuse.

Jasper watched them when she thought they wouldn’t notice. She didn't realize it until she took Lapis’s hand again, that she memorized the way Lapis’s body moved also. She made some effort in their second dance on the beach, before the wreckage of Peridot’s ship and the captive audience that is their enemy. Lapis moved like a current around her, and Jasper held her hand and the small of her back, supporting her body, gently leading her movements.

It wasn't just basic memorization. It was familiarity, it was tension. For a moment they were attuned to each other’s feelings. Lapis wanted revenge, and Jasper too. Their reasons were different but their resolve was the same. Little details didn’t matter, they saw an opportunity, and took it, using each other.

The act of fusing had come easily, but Lapis quickly overpowered her, dragging them both into the deeper reaches of the sea. Jasper couldn’t help but wonder if she would have had the upper hand, had they practiced.


	17. Pearl and Lapis l Castaways

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pearl and Lapis talk.

Once the disdain fizzled out of Lapis’s voice and Pearl let herself become humble they finally started to talk. Then Pearl wondered why they didn’t talk sooner because finally she'd met someone who missed Homeworld and space as much as she did. They had a lot more in common than she had previously cared to admit, but that was probably why they had argued in the first place. 

“When I was in the mirror you always told me to show you my memories of Homeworld,” Lapis said, perched on top of the washing machine. The night was cold and the sea current waved a cool breeze. 

“...Yes.” Pearl averted her eyes. The subject was precarious, one of many reasons why Lapis initially hated her and the Crystal Gems. “Why do you ask?”

“I just thought that you should tell me your memories of Home.”

“Are you sure? But... mine are..."

“It’s only fair, don’t you think?” Lapis pressed.

Pearl smiled a little, testing the waters. “Yes, I suppose it is.” Seeing the excitement cross Lapis’s features helped Pearl’s confidence. “What do you want to know?”

“Anything.”

Pearl told her everything. As she spoke her gem projected images. The role reversal pleased Lapis, but as the evening passed and Pearl’s stories trickled to a stop, an inevitable melancholy blanketed them.

“I miss it,” Pearl said in conclusion.

“You know, you’re not missing anything now,” Lapis said. “It’s not the same anymore. It’s a good thing you haven’t gone back. It’s impossible to fit in.” 

Pearl wiped the corner of her eye. “I never could fit in. Even then.”

“But you fit in here.” 

Pearl’s ovular eyes widened in surprise. “I do?”

“Yeah.” Lapis hopped off the washing machine, her water wings making a brief appearance. Pearl wanted the other gem to elaborate but a part of her was afraid to ask. “I still have a lot to learn about this planet. I want to like it.”

“Me too,” Pearl said quietly. They both watched the sun rise above the waves and heard Steven and Amethyst rough-housing below in the house. Ahead, Garnet emerged from the ocean, drenched and walking back to the temple. The pattern was like clockwork. The predictability of the morning soothed Pearl, and for a moment she didn’t need to be on Homeworld or exploring space to be happy. She had her family.


	18. Pearl, Rose l   Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“It was here that I became familiar with the human concept of being a knight. Completely dedicated to a person and a cause.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on this headcanon steelpapercranes made about Pearl being made specifically for dancing.
> 
> http://steelpapercranes.tumblr.com/post/130780917931/i-mean-pearl-probably-wouldnt-choose-to-fight
> 
> Warning for graphic violence.

The sword was too heavy in Pearl’s hands. 

It took all her strength to lift it up. It nearly upended her when she landed a blow. The sword was beautiful. It felt delicate as glass against her palm, as strong and porous as marble. It was not well-used, a heavy, purely decorative sword. Pearl could not properly carry it. She gripped it too tight and the blade dragged in the ground beside her as she exited backstage and slowly entered the arena.

A loud jeer had come from the stands when her opponent appeared before her. As she walked, she was met with silence all around. It was dizzying. And then, clapping surprised her.

Pearl snuck a glance upwards and instantly regretted it. The only one clapping was her owner.

She had been caught mimicking the warrior class gems, their fighting stances and their form. She had witnessed their forms while her owner toured the warrior class Gems’ training grounds. Pearl had trailed dutifully behind her and no one thought much of her staring. It was in a pearl’s nature to pay attention, like a living camera or voice recorder. If her owner ordered her to show her yesterday’s events or a thousand years before, she expected Pearl to produce a detailed hologram through an objective perspective. Pearl had ideas of how things actually took place but kept those images to herself. Often it wasn’t what actually happened that her owner wanted to see. Pearl knew her owner’s wants well, as a pearl should, and dismissing the truth would show her owner what she wanted. No one expected less from a pearl, even though a pearl was considered less of a thing.

Pearls were commodities, and they could be records, like sentient libraries that held historical value. Pearl had to hold her tongue in their presence; she had a lot of questions.

She had had a lot of questions for the warrior gems too, enving them as she trailed behind her owner. She wanted to learn from them herself, but had to resign to projecting images of their drill and following their movements. It was strange to move like them, like unraveling her own programming. She wondered if that was because she was just a pearl.

The stances and movements the warrior gems had made seemed simple enough, but when Pearl tried, it was tedious and she was quickly frustrated. She resisted the natural urge to point her toes and planted her feet firmly on the ground, then made a sweeping gesture across the floor, as if she were carrying a battleaxe– no– a spear. That sounded right. A spear clasped in her hands, as white and delicate as porcelain.

When she could finally do it, she felt vulgar, but she was mystified too. The hard work had made it all the more gratifying.

That was how her owner found her.

Pearl had froze, feeling eyes upon her back. She turned to see her owner’s face, twisted in scrutiny. She quickly straightened herself, hands folded placidly behind her back.

“That looks strangely familiar,” her owner commented. “But I’ve never seen a pearl move like that.”

Pearl swallowed, her fingers fidgeting. She wanted to melt into the floor, but she also wanted to show off what she had accomplished, as wrong as that was. She had worked so hard. She thought it was impressive and was annoyed underneath her fear that no one would give her the recognition she deserved.

“I just thought–”

“You just thought? That was your first mistake.”

Her owner walked past her, the force of the steps stirring the ruffles of Pearl’s tunic. Without looking, Pearl knew her owner had taken the sword from the mantelpiece. She heard it unsheathed, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

“So you want to fight?” she had said, sounding entertained by the idea. “I can arrange that.”

This wasn’t the first time Pearl had gone to the arena, accompanying her owner. Not the first time she had kept a sharp eye on the finer details of the battles. And like always, no one batted an eye at her for staring, because she was supposed to be thoughtless, merely observing for her owner’s future entertainment. Replaying these battles had been one of the many tasks Pearl enjoyed. She could barely contain her smile when she did, but she had to.

The four corners of the arena were heralded by statues depicting the Diamond Authority and above the arena, floating in the sky, was their symbol too: four diamonds creating one large diamond emblem to symbolize the unity of their treaty. This was the first time Pearl had seen it from this angle– in the middle of the arena itself, not safely in the stands– and she had a twist in her abdomen that said this would be the last time too.

Her opponent was a quartz, specifically two jaspers fused together. The other gem towered over Pearl. She bellowed and breathed a lot. The air from of her mouth had such a force that it felt like a gust of warm, moist wind. Pearl covered her mouth in disgust, then remembered the odds were against her and put her hand back on the sword. She would need both hands to lift it.

The fusion would not allow her room for that luxury. She took no time to make a courteous bow and immediately swung her axe directly at Pearl. Pearl gritted her teeth and tried to lift the sword, but it was too heavy and her palms too sweaty. She bolted backwards. The sword shattered. Pearl’s head pounded. That could have been her– would be her, soon enough.

She had no weapon. No training. The fusion laughed at her and the audience in the stands joined in. Pearl thought she heard someone hiss, “Shatter her.”

Pearl shook. She flattened her pointed feet and balled up her fists. She was afraid. She had nothing. No way of winning, but she had defiance, and after grueling practice, a new skill. Something no other pearl knew how to do.

She pivoted gracefully, then made her stance strong, circling around the fusion, mimicking the battle formation the jaspers used.

Her form was sloppy, she was sure, since she’d had so few opportunities to practice. Dancing was her real skill and everyone was expecting her fighting stances to fall apart like a bad joke and that she would slip effortlessly into a dance. They expected the jasper fusion to lose patience and shatter her. But with all their disgust, they were mesmerized.

Pearl’s cheeks burned blue, feeling their stares and their ire. Her footwork faltered into elegance, but then she moved resolutely. She slipped back and forth between both styles until they folded into one expression that she had made her own.

The jasper fusion laughed at her from above.

“Pretty good,” She complimented, tossing her hair over her shoulder, then braced herself, weapon loose in her hands as she made brisk steps closer to Pearl. “But can you actually fight?!” she growled, swinging at Pearl.

Pearl backed away, light on her feet. The blade missed her but not the ribbon tied to her skirt, now a tatter on the ground.

Her moment of shock was short. Her opponent didn’t allow her a moment of reprieve, lunging forward with all her weight and might, the axe held high.

Again Pearl moved quickly, dodging all the attacks with a ballerina’s finesse. She had started to wonder if she should continue this dance. She could pace herself, the fusion perhaps not. She hoped to overtire her opponent, but that plan shattered when her back connected with the stadium wall. She was cornered. It was her fault for over-focusing, ignoring her surroundings. She gripped the wall, teeth and chest clenched. The fusion raised her ax and had nowhere else to go but forward.

The fusion’s stance was wide. There was an opening between the tree-trunk-sized legs. Pearl decided to try for escape and somersaulted forward. The fusion now behind her, she sprang up to run, oblivious to (or ignoring) the jeers of the audience. Just as soon as she thought of a new plan, she nearly pitched forward, tripping. Her flowing robe and tassels were under the jasper’s giant boot.

Pearl scrambled. A shout erupted unbidden from her throat. All of the restraint, haughtiness, calm, and pride that she had pulled over her fear burst at the seams like an overfilled sack. She couldn’t feel her body shaking. The fusion’s steps made the arena tremble. She held Pearl’s sash and robe in one clawed hand, the heavy axe in the other. Pearl watched the shadow of the axe descend and automatically squeezed her eyes shut. Already, she felt open. Crushed.

She imagined the sick slick sound in her head, the vulgar jeers of the audience dead to her. All she could hear was her head pounding, the sharp crack the axe would make splitting her skull before it burst open like a melon. She imagined anything but the sweet tonal sound that erupted instead, silencing all.

Pearl shuddered, disbelieving, her mind still stuck in the throes of pain and defeat, hanging unrealized. She peeked over her shoulder, unsure if her physical form was still intact. The sun was blinding. She unfolded herself from her cowering and righted herself cautiously, using her hand to shield the sun from her eyes.

She made out a form much larger than the jasper fusion, but less imposing, more benevolent. A curtain of pink curls, beyond that: the two jaspers, unfused and bowing to the figure that intervened.

She didn’t remember much afterwards. Her panic blurred everything into pinks and oranges as she was escorted from the arena. For some time Pearl sat in a holding room, cold panic blanketing her, making her numb joints chafe and chatter. In the edges of her disorientation, she wondered if she would have been better off shattered, and then she wondered who the other gem was that had granted her mercy. It was a kindness that had made her opponent tremble.

When the door opened, Pearl stood at attention. Her owner was here to pick her up. Her body moved, seemingly on its own, while her mind moved in several directions. Everything halted when she came to the threshold to see it wasn’t her owner on the other side.

“Oh.” Pearl stepped back. “I’m sorry. I thou–” She closed her mouth, self-conscious and careful of her words.

The pink-haired gem tilted her head. She was more radiant, more familiar than Pearl thought she had been in the arena. Maybe it was because her back had been to her then, or that she had been awash with panic, or maybe Pearl couldn’t have believed that this gem would defend a pearl: barely a gem, an easily expendable commodity. Pearl stepped back again.

“You thought?” Rose probed.

Pearl held her hands up, biting her lip. “I’m waiting for someone,” she explained, unable to say her owner’s name.

“I see,” Rose said, and then, “I’m afraid she won’t be here to pick you up. That’s why I’m here, if you want.”

“If I want?”

“If you want.”

Pearl stared at the outstretched hand, wondering if this was a trick, this sliver of hope another wire in her owner’s cruel game.

“I…”

Her hand was behind her back, fingers twitching, aching at her self-restraint. “I can’t want things. I’m just a pearl.”

She chanced a glance to Rose’s face and accidentally held it there, surprised to see the other gem frown at this reply. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” Rose said quietly, and then after a bit of silence she tried a smile again. “In any case, I would like you to accompany me back home.”

Pearl’s eyes drifted, expecting her owner to turn up and catch her mid-betrayal. Rose noticed this and Pearl felt more nervous, afraid to offend her. She really did want to go with her, but no one had ever asked her what she wanted, and although Rose’s voice was sweet, ripe with honesty, Pearl expected the illusion to shatter as soon as she accepted the offer.

It was Rose’s waiting that finally pushed her. She felt rude, keeping her waiting too long, later she would feel foolish, for second guessing Rose’s intentions. Very nervously, Pearl steepled her fingers and nodded, looking at the ground.

“If that’s what you want,” she said carefully.

“It is,” Rose reassured.

In the beginning, Pearl often wondered if she complied because she had nowhere else to go, or if the path to Rose was what she really wanted. Her feelings seemed genuine, but a life of servitude had muddled her confidence in her feelings and herself. But Rose was always reassuring and when she smiled, Pearl did too– without being asked.

There was true joy in completing tasks for Rose and being by her side, and in freedom too. It was freedom Pearl almost didn’t know what to do with. Her heart leapt when Rose laid a sword in Pearl’s hands. Rose had told her to hold her hands out and she readily complied, but questioned why. At that, Rose chuckled before asking her to close her eyes. There was a bit of mischief and good humor in her voice that made Pearl more curious. When she opened her eyes, a rapier was balanced on her palms. The sword had a complex hilt that looked like silver vines or twisted roots, the blade long and as thin as needle. In the light, the blade seemed to blink and disappear. Pearl ran her finger down the blade and didn’t feel the cut until she saw a trace of blood.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I thought this one might suit you more,” Rose said, taking the hand Pearl had knicked. She pressed the cut to the corner of her eye, lashes moist with tears.

“It was just a small cut.”

“Nothing, no one is too small.”

Her cut was healed and Rose’s eyes were dry, but they both lingered.


	19. Peridot, Malachite l In a Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot learns about Malachite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This hiatus is killing me. I want answers.

She’s heard the name used offhandedly by Amethyst. Pearl speaks the name in a hushed tone, in hallways. And Garnet says the name in her cool, casual way, but despite her manner, Peridot senses trepidation within the fusion too.

They all think Peridot hasn’t heard the name, but she has. It’s a passing curiosity for her which she shrugs off, thinking back to the bubbled gems at the heart of the temple. She thinks she can forget the name, but it comes back to her. Like ink spreading on paper, that name consumes her thoughts. 

It’s at the shore while she and Steven are building sandcastles that she thinks to ask. She can trust Steven. She can ask him anything, and if he doesn’t know the answer, they can ask the ‘Dad.’ 

“Who is Malachite?” Peridot asks and suddenly the moment is punctured. Steven is sad and a touch (only a touch) grim. Their sandcastles demolished by the tide, Steven looks at the ocean and Peridot follows his gaze, still wondering.

And he tells her. Everything. The waves crest the shore and water surrounds their ankles and Peridot wants to move. But she can’t.


	20. Gem Glow

Steven was surrounded by role models and teachers. His dad taught him how to play guitar, and when he was old enough, the Gems began to teach him how to use his powers. Pearl was always eager to educate Steven about gem culture and history, and though she hoped he never would need it, battle strategy. Amethyst taught by example, most of the time by accident. She just wanted to be fun, to have fun. Shapeshifting was her forte, and when Steven started to learn that she took her lessons seriously to the point that Steven said she almost sounded like Pearl. Even Garnet had laughed.

Garnet taught Steven patience, to wait for the right moment. She taught him that silence moved mountains more than words. He hoped to be as cool as her when he grew up-- but more talkative.

The citizens of Beach City taught him also. They each had their tidbits of advice and their own problems that he learned from. He didn’t understand all of it, but he would in time when he grew up. Some taught him how to enact the lessons the gems and his father gave him. Lars tested his patience and his kindness. Connie introduced him to high fantasy novels and told him what school and summer breaks were. Her parents once cornered him and told him the dangers of trans fats (but he loved donuts too much to give them up). 

Everything he learned, big and small was for this moment, and the many after this one. He took a deep breath. He drew out his compassion for his greatest teachers and summoned his shield. Then took one step forward, following Connie.


	21. Laser Light Canon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to do the same thing my friend possiblityleft if doing. I'm rewatching the series and writing a drabble for each episode. Once new episodes start airing again I'll be writing drabbles in the same vein too. 
> 
> In case you haven't read my friend's drabble collection, it's here:  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/3711037

Pearl didn’t believe that Rose’s cannon would be in Greg’s garage. She couldn’t believe it when Greg’s van pulled up, dragging the cannon in a broken wagon. After the initial relief wore and the red eye was no longer a threat, Pearl began to think, too much, as she was prone to.

Why did Rose leave one of her cannons to Greg? Why not her? The suspicion that Rose had kept secrets from her had often prodded her thoughts, but she refused to believe it. But here it was, the proof: the cannon sitting idly on the beach, emitting pink smoke and ether.

What else did Rose keep from her, and what else did Greg know about Rose that she didn’t? It was too late for jealousy, and that was what hurt. She could never confront Rose about it, or ask her why.


	22. Cheeseburger Backpack

When Amethyst was gone or sleeping, Pearl would organize her room. It was a daunting, neverending task. Amethyst always came back with more junk, kicking down Pearl’s neat piles.  
Pearl didn’t understand Amethyst’s need to horde senseless objects. That burrito, a lawnchair cracked in half, and the cheeseburger backpack. . . .

Pearl’s hand closed around the cheeseburger backpack. A smile crept over her face and she covered a giggle. 

“Well! I certainly haven’t seen this for some time.”

Not since Steven turned fifteen, she guessed. It was bothersome to keep track of human ages and Steven was half gem after all; he aged depending on how old he felt.

Memories tugged at her consciousness. Without thinking she formed a projection of a younger Steven, bouncing up and down, showing off the bag. Though it was silly, Pearl did admit that having it had helped Steven build his self-confidence during missions. 

The bag was filthy, with mysterious yellow and orange smudges on the lettuce-shaped pocket. Two of the zippers were torn and there was a dime-sized hole on the bottom. It was as bad as the Lunar Sea Spire was when it was on its last legs. She was amazed that it didn’t fall apart in her hands.

She was tempted to throw it away, but she held onto it and left Amethyst's room. Once she cleaned and repaired it, she would have a surprise for Steven.


	23. Together Breakfast

Steven had been looking forward to eating together with the Crystal Gems. His fondest memories of his dad were when they cooked hotdogs and s'mores together after jamming together on the guitar. Since he started living with the Crystal Gems he was eager to form that same bond. 

Together Breakfast had been a failure but Together Pizza was off to a fresh start. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were all accounted for. All except Amethyst waited patiently, and when the doorbell finally rang Steven had to grab her to prevent her from mauling the delivery boy.

The delivery boy scuttled away missing one of his pants legs and Amethyst had a torn piece of jeans to add to her collection. Steven carried the pizza inside, all while trying to hold off Amethyst.

“It’s Together Pizza!” he reminded her for the fourth time.

Pearl opened the box of pepperoni pie and flinched slightly at the smell. She did crack a smile however, admiring the symmetry of the perfectly cut slices. She didn’t eat and neither did Garnet. Only Steven and Amethyst ate the pizza, but they were all together.


	24. Frybo

Peedee always figured that Steven would take over Greg’s car wash. Just like how he was going to inherit the Fryman business.

Ronaldo was growing out of the Frybo suit, and Peedee could taste the winds of change in the salt air and adulthood upon him. He was looking forward to it, and the day after his dad announced that he would wear the Frybo suit this Friday(they had sent it to the dry cleaner) he ran to tell Steven.

Peedee was surprised, and apprehensive to see his friend bending against the weight of the bulging backpack strapped to his back. There was a suitcase in his hand, pink shirts sticking out of the corners.

"Going on vacation, Steven?" Peedee asked hopefully.  
Steven shook his head, "no. I'm moving."

"Moving?!"

Steven patted his shoulder, "I won't be far." He reassured. I'm moving in with the Crystal Gems."

Peedee only vaguely knew who Steven was talking about. "Why?"

"They're going to teach me how to be a Crystal Gem- just like my mom." Seeing the confusion on Peedee's face, Steven explained: "They save the world and stuff- and now I will too."

Peedee dryly laughed, feeling left out. "Wouldn't you rather take over your father's business?" That sounded normal, and that it paid.


	25. Catfingers

Amethysts were natural shapeshifters. When Pearl found Amethyst, she was a snake, coiled on a rock, tongue flickering out in curiousity.

She changed shape after tasting the particles in the air. She copied Pearl’s form, then that of the other Gems that followed. She wasn’t afraid, babbling ecstatically, changing shapes until she fell asleep on the way back to the temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next drabble will be the last posted in this collection. I will be making a new collection called "Beyond Our Star" that will be posted Jan 4th when new episodes air again.


	26. Bubble Buddies

Steven checked on the glow in the dark bracelet every night, to make sure it maintained it’s glow, and because the sight of it reminded him of the girl at the parade, who dropped it. He also checked to make sure Amethyst didn’t eat it.


	27. Serious Steven

Steven wasn’t sure what he was capable of yet as a Crystal Gem. The Cheeseburger Backpack had worked before, but he wanted to try other tactics, different ways to approach the missions.

He brought the ukelele with him, because even if he couldn’t summon his shield yet, he knew how to play the ukulele. That was something, and it was a start.


	28. Tiger Millionare

It was Lars’s idea to go to the Beach City underground wrestling arena.

Sadie had not so casually mentioned she was free one Thursday night and let it ‘slip’ that her mom was out of town.

The hint had gone over Lars’s head- he thought Sadie was whining about being bored later that night. “I guess you could go with me tonight.”

Not what Sadie had hoped for, she imagined that she and Lars would be cuddling on her couch, swathed in a blanket. Not sitting in hard uncomfortable fold up chairs, watching the residents of Beach City after hours unleashing pent up fury.

It wasn’t what she wanted, and everything she expected, but, surprisingly she enjoyed herself. She began taking bets on the wrestlers, booing and rooting those in the ring. Sometimes, when they were short on cash, she and Lars shared a soda.

She quickly began to look forward to Thursday nights and it became a tradition to go to the underground arena after closing the Big Donut. The next morning when they opened, with dark circles rimming their eyes, they would excitedly discuss the matches the night before.

“Did you think the Lochness Blogster sounded like Ronaldo?”

Lars rolled his eyes, arms crossed and surly, “who else would it be?”

“The tag team tournament is coming up soon.” Sadie watched Lars’s face soften a little at the subject change.

“Who do you think will take the belt?”

Sadie rubbed her arm sheepishly, “actually. I was thinking: why don’t we enter the tag team tournament?”

Lars snorted and mumbled an excuse under his breath. Sadie was ready to tell him she could do most of the fighting. She could handle her own and once she used a chair to hit someone (technically the bubble Steven and Connie were trapped in). She felt that meant something and it looked like fun. But she knew Lars and if she offered that Lars would be insecure. What would people think? Letting a girl fight for him?


	29. Steven’s Lion

Amethyst was about to bubble the Desert Glass until Pearl told her: “you know you really ought to bubble that immediately, Amethyst.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes, and any motivation she had was thrown straight out the window. “Yeah, maybe I will- when I feel like it.”


	30. Arcade Mania

Steven’s first job was sudsing the hubcaps at his dad’s car wash. His second and current job was saving the world and humanity as a Crystal Gem (he was still going through on the job training). His third job was helping out Mr. Smiley at the Funland arcade. Mr. Smiley made him work every day for over a month to pay back the damages to the arcade machines.

It was boring, mostly and it kept Steven from going on the more interesting Gem missions. He knew they could intimidate Mr. Smiley at any time, but Pearl took advantage of this when a mission she deemed dangerous would come up.

It wasn’t until Amethyst got bored and Garnet felt he was spending too much time at the Funland Arcade that Mr. Smiley finally relieved him from his debt.

He told Steven he was banned and the quarters Steven had accumulated for over a month jingled solemnly in his pants pockets.


	31. Giant Woman

Looking back on it, Amethyst should have known Pearl would be the first gem she would fuse with.

Pearl had taken care of most of her training. She taught her how to summon her weapon (though the “petal thing” never worked for Amethyst), how to fight, and how to dance (later, Amethyst added her own flourishes). They were inseparable, even when they weren’t training together or teamed up on missions. Amethyst felt safe in Pearl’s arms, and Pearl liked being protective towards the younger gem. She watched Amethyst sleep, and Amethyst didn’t mind that. She wanted to feel wanted.

She wasn’t so sure if she really was wanted, or if they had just taken her in just because they pitied her, or a worse thought: they wanted to keep tabs on her.

One member of Rose’s army had been against her joining them, and though that gem was long gone, bubbled under the temple, her words still bit into Amethyst’s skin. “. . .She’s a bad gem... a parasite of this planet....”

So when Rose suggested that Amethyst should start practicing fusion, Amethyst grew anxious. No one would volunteer to practice with her, Rose maybe, but that wasn’t the point. Amethyst didn’t want to be tolerated by the rest of the team; she hoped they all cared about her as much as Rose did.

She bit her lip, holding back a frown, drawing her knees to her chest, looking away from the group.

“That’s an excellent idea, Rose,” Pearl spoke up. Amethyst rolled her eyes. Of course Pearl had to speak up. Teacher’s pet.

“...I’ll fuse with Amethyst.”

Amethyst looked up, unsure if she'd heard correctly.

Rose looked between her and Pearl and smiled radiantly. “I couldn’t see it any other way.”

“They are close,” Garnet commented.

Pearl extended her hand.

Amethyst stared at her hand. “You really want to fuse with me?”

Pearl was more patient then, less nervous, smiling with contagious confidence. Amethyst took her hand and there wasn’t a doubt in her mind.

“Of course I do, Amethyst. Why wouldn’t I?”

They became Opal and she felt like she belonged.


	32. So Many Birthdays

Garnet wore the cap and crown for weeks until she went on a mission alone to the fire swamp. The Birthday Suit made her feel special but it wasn’t fire-resistant.


	33. Lars and The Cool Kids

Buck and Sour Cream were suspicious of the guy with a mohawk that loitered outside Fish Stew Pizza.

“I think he goes to our high school,” Sour Cream said.

“I think he’s creepy. That’s not cool, man,” Buck replied, seeming to stare ahead but who knew for sure since he was wearing sunglasses.

Jenny thought it was sweet that her friends were worried about her but the loiterer was scrawny and she was sure she and Gunga could take him on. If it came to that.

“He’s harmless,” she assured, shrugging her shoulders.


	34. Onion Trade

Usually, Amethyst didn’t sneak into Pearl’s room. Usually, she just came in nonchalantly, like she owned the place, leaning against a waterfall, awaiting Pearl’s complaints.

But Amethyst had to sneak in. It was an emergency. Agua Mexican was closing down for good after today.

She had to act quickly and luckily Pearl was organized. As much as Amethyst wouldn’t like to admit it, she found the Replicator Wand within minutes.

“I’m borrowing this,” she whispered, glad that Pearl wasn’t there to answer.


	35. Steven the Swordfighter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought it was weird that they never talk about how Holo Pearl chopped down that tree.

“Steven, do you know what happened to the tree?”

Steven swallowed, thin-lipped. He had hoped that Pearl wouldn’t notice that her favorite tree had been lacerated. ts radiant pink blossoms, the girth of its trunk, and its spindled branches lay in the crisp green grass. He had bought a bonsai tree the day Holo Pearl cut it in half and placed the bonsai tree, pot included, atop the stump.

Of course Pearl noticed. Steven expected nothing less, but some part of him had hoped she wouldn’t. Before she approached him, after Holo Pearl had chopped down the tree, Steven imagined the sadness reflected in Pearl’s eyes, poorly masked with concern.

He wished it could be that simple, but it wasn’t, so he hugged her and said he was sorry, even though it was Holo Pearl’s fault.


	36. Lion 2: The Movie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have strong headcanons about Connie growing up to become a full-time writer and Crystal Gem warrior.

Connie knew how to drive, and she could have taken the bus or she could have flown to the city. She could have done anything but ride Lion to the bookstore in New York. She was doing a book signing for her latest young adult book.

She didn’t know what had happened. She was normally good at planning but she tarried, procrastinated. There was just so much to do, she reasoned. In between writing her novels she helped Steven and the Crystal Gems on missions (normally she was paired with Pearl or Steven), maintained Roses’s gardens with Steven, and last weekend they had stomped in a tub full of strawberries baked under the sun to make homemade jam.

After booking her flight last minute, she overslept the next day. Her editor blew up her phone, worried she wouldn’t make it on time. Steven assured them both that Connie would make it. He let her borrow Lion, who tilted his head and stared blankly at the wall for the several minutes they spent on his back coaxing him before he finally stretched his limbs and shook out his shaggy mane.

Once Lion decided to listen, it was only a hop, skip, and a few teleportation jumps to the little bookstore in New York. Connie slipped off of Lion’s flank, unaware of the children staring at her in awe.

“Can I… park your… um, lion?” A valet asked, swallowing. He debated whether part-time pay was worth a lion biting his head off.

Steven shook his head, folding his arms, smiling. “That won’t be necessary. Lion, sit… Sit! Aww, come on! You did it yesterday. Lion! Sit. Um, crouch…” He glanced at Connie, sweating slightly. “We might be awhile. Go ahead.”


	37. Beach Party

“Pearl.”

The soft sharp whine Amethyst made as she called her name made Pearl stop in her tracks. She turned, hands raised delicately, concern painted on her pale face.

“I got a boo boo.” Amethyst pouted, half-sitting, half-kneeling on the ground. Her arms were wrapped around her bent leg, hugging herself.

Pearl knelt down across from her, hands hanging in the air as she inspected the hurt. It was just a small scuff on the younger gem’s knee, but Pearl was worried all the same.

“I told Rose this mission would be too dangerous for you.”

She crossed her arms, pensive. Amethyst blinked. It was strange to hear Pearl disagree with Rose.

“It’s not that bad,” Amethyst admitted, beginning to sit up.

“It could have been worse,” Pearl said in measured breath. Pearl saw the worst in situations. This annoyed most all the Crystal Gems, Amethyst included. But unlike them, Amethyst didn’t completely dislike Pearl’s caution.

Pearl cared. Amethyst couldn’t doubt that, watching the other gem inspect her knee.

Pearl cared about her, just when Amethyst would doubt anyone cared about her at all.

Pearl was neurotic, overprotective, and cloying, but she cared earnestly. Her heart was on her sleeve where Amethyst could see it.

“Can you kiss it– y’know, to make it feel better?”

Pearl’s eyes widened more and she scratched her cheek, looking away sheepishly. “Amethyst, you know I don’t have healing powers like Rose.”

“Can you do it anyway?”

“Amethyst!” Pearl began to reprimand, but softened under the look the younger gem gave her. “Just this once,” she said, but they knew better.


	38. Rose's Room

“Yow!” Connie yelped, drawing back her arm. There was a ring of Steven’s teeth marks near her wrist.

Steven’s eyes grew big with relief. “You didn’t ‘poof’!”

Connie readjusted her glasses. “Um, yeah?”

“Steven looked at her arm, blushing slightly, laughing awkwardly. “Sorry about that. I was making sure I wasn’t dreaming. That you were real.”

“Normally people pinch themselves.” Connie said, rubbing her arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This episode was creepier than I remembered.


	39. Rose's Room 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcanon that Rose’s Room is powered by a gem.

As far as the gem was concerned, she only wanted to be Rose’s room. She had a name once, but she preferred ‘Room.’ Room had been lost until she was offered the opportunity to power Rose’s quarters. She wasn’t much of a warrior, a meek tactician, and a lazy drone. By Homeworld’s standards she was useless. Idle hands were defective and she knew if Rose hadn’t found her first she would have been condemned.

Rose had asked her what she liked to do and what she could do well. Room was baffled by these questions. At first she thought it was a test, and then, when she finally relaxed, she realized she wasn’t sure, because no one had ever asked her what she wanted.

“Take your time,” Rose had said. The next time they spoke, Room sheepishly admitted that she was a dreamer. She would rather spend her time fantasizing and knitting together worlds and possibilities in her head. She welcomed the trap of nostalgia. She liked to imitate scenery, sound, feeling. She liked soft clouds, the ombre glow of sunsets, the smell of sugar.

“Sorry, that’s really dumb. None of that is useful.”

Rose shook her head. Her smile reassured Room. “You’re honest.”

“I really value honesty,” Room had said.

Rose gave her an offer. Room took it, grateful. She only hesitated because she was so elated she nearly forgot to say yes.

Most gems would be horrified by the prospect of powering objects while cognizant. Room didn’t understand the overwhelming need for movement. One did not need mobility to make their mark. She wanted to stay in one place. Everyone was so busy moving it made her dizzy trying to keep up.

Room did not give up her individuality, her person, by becoming Rose’s Room. She felt defined by her duty. When Rose set her gem into the recess of a wall, she thought, “Yes. This is me. I’ve found myself. This is who I am.”

It didn’t matter where Rose placed her gem– on Homeworld, in a recess on her ship, or now, on Earth, wedged into a cave wall surrounded by crystalline geodes, Room felt at home. With a purpose, she belonged anywhere. She was Rose’s confidante. She thought it was funny that the Pearl thought Pearl herself was Rose’s right hand, that Rose told her everything. The Pearl knew she powered the room, but she was unaware that Room was self aware and alive. None of the gems knew that. Out of everyone, Rose spent the most time with Room. It was in her room that Rose contemplated losing her physical form, giving her gem and her legacy to Steven.

Room ruffled Rose’s curls, and then, taking the form Rose chose, so she could speak to her, she asked, “What do you want?”

And when Rose said she still wasn’t sure, Room gently answered, “Take your time.”


	40. Coach Steven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to post this yet but it fits the new ep (Sworn to the Sword) so well how can I not?

It wasn't like Pearl to sleep. Amethyst, yes; since Rose gave up her physical form, Garnet has found Amethyst passed out in several places: the warp pad facing the temple door, in her room (with all of its suddenly accumulated junk), in a ditch, and finally, in her hole at the Kindergarten.

Garnet had seen where Pearl was, but she was surprised to find her sound asleep, lower body submerged in the fountain, top half leaning over the edge, her arms spread, the creeping ivy tickling long fingers.

She looked peaceful and Garnet didn't want to wake her, but it had been weeks and Garnet had seen the future. Pearl needed to wake up.

“Pearl,” she said.

Pearl’s eyes fluttered open before Garnet’s hand settled on her bare shoulder. She was naked. Garnet didn’t mind, but Pearl did and she bit her lip nervously, covering herself with her arms until she materialized a set of clothes.

Garnet, she mouthed, voice silent. It had been weeks since she’d spoken. She wasn't even sure if words formed in her mind for the whole month she'd spent in Rose’s gardens.

“Let’s go,” Garnet said, firm and careful. The wounds were still open in both of them, and she was still learning how to take her sudden role as leader.

Pearl blinked as if stunned. She expected this, but not so soon. They both knew this wouldn’t be easy for her, and she would resist. They also knew-- and Pearl knew especially-- that she wouldn’t win, but she fought back and said, “. . .No.”

The single word hissed out of her throat like a curse. Garnet stood and began to pick her up, but Pearl moved out of her grasp and said with absolute but ragged certainty, “No.”

They didn’t know who was the first to draw their weapon. Pearl’s spear sang in the wind. It rang making contact with Garnet’s gauntlets. The fight was unlike their sparring matches, a somber tension thick in the air between them. They both intended to win, but they were going easy on each other, emotionally exhausted and afraid to harm each other. The armies were gone, their other friends had fallen, and now Rose wasn’t here. They only had each other.

Garnet grasped the spear, wrenching it from Pearl’s hands. Pearl knew this was the end before her wrists were forced above her head, but her pulse still quickened, and there were tears burning the corners of her eyes. There was an ache in her chest. She wasn't ready to go back to the temple. Not without Rose.

Pearl did a slight backbend and raised her torso, her feet kicking up. Garnet drew back. Pearl missed. The point of Pearl’s toes knocked off Garnet’s shades.

Three eyes stared down at Pearl. Pearl gasped, body cold, no longer struggling. She imagined Garnet’s anger and the fight was knocked out of her. She didn’t notice the dark circles under Garnet’s eyes, and mistook the bloodshot eyes for angry ones.

She didn’t see that Garnet was just as worn and hurt as her. So obsessed with her own pain, Pearl thought the others had moved on too quickly.

Pearl surrendered the fight but not the bigger battle. She let Garnet pick her up and set her on her feet, leading her to the warp pad.

“I don’t want to go back.”

“You have to be strong.”

“Right. For Rose.”

“For yourself,” Garnet corrected her.

A hitch broke Pearl’s steps and she leaned her weight on Garnet. “I can’t.”

“Learn how,” Garnet said, helping her up. They stepped on the warp pad and Garnet materialized a new set of shades. “Now we go get Amethyst.”

X

When they arrived at the Kindergarten, Amethyst was tossing boulders.

Pearl thought nothing could encourage her to move on, but Amethyst proved her wrong. Immediately, She reprimanded Amethyst for the vulgar and careless actions.

“It’s not safe here! What are you thinking?!” She planted her hands on her hips. Humans would think they were sisters.

X

She still didn’t know how to be strong for herself, but she knew how to be strong for others. She could greet the dawn knowing Amethyst needed her, her discipline and guidance. She could move on knowing Garnet was by her side. She could fight so she could protect Steven, another remnant of Rose.

She fought for humanity as much as she did for herself, which was not at all.

“I can’t,” she said, and she believed it.


	41. Joking Victim

1.  
It was meant to just be a summer job, but then two employees were fired and a manager walked out. Sadie felt too guilty to quit.

2\.   
The acting jobs were few these days and he refused to consider that he was too old or gone out of style. Mr. Smiley took any job he could get (mostly training videos) and he felt like a star. Sometimes the employees at the Big Donut would recognize him. But he had yet to get free donuts. Company policy, he supposed, and he could respect that– he sang a song about it more than once.

3\.   
“You probably shouldn’t give humans that,” Amethyst told Steven when he borrowed the fire salt. She mentioned this only after his figure receded into the dawn, shrugging her shoulders with a soft and stilted, “Eh.”

If Pearl asked, Amethyst would say she tried to stop him.


	42. Steven and The Stevens

“Twenty one… twenty two, twenty four–”

“Garnet! What do we do?” Pearl screeched. There were too many Stevens and there wasn’t enough time.

“Twenty fou–” Amethyst stopped and growled. “You made me lose count, Pearl!”

“Fifty nine,” Garnet provided, She knew this would happen.


	43. Monster Buddies

Rose was trying again. She was crouched down, the front of her dress raised up slightly so she could kneel. She reached forward, beckoning towards the corrupted gem, her voice as soft as the coo of a dove.

“It’s okay.”

Garnet heard her before she saw her. The corrupted gem tilted its malformed head at Rose as if contemplating, sharp vapor rising from it’s nostrils.

“It’s okay,” Rose said again and Garnet stopped moving.

For a moment Rose wasn’t there. For a moment a small child with brown curly hair was trying to comfort the corrupted gem. He was smaller than Rose, more vulnerable, his heart laid bare. He was Rose, but he was not Rose.

Garnet took a step forward and the vision left her. Rose peered over her shoulder and the corrupted gem skittered away at the sight of Garnet.

“Did you see something?” Rose asked, the shred of hope lifting her frown.


	44. Indirect Kiss

When the pink silhouette reached for him, beyond the fountain’s waters, Steven reached out too. He thought, he hoped, she would catch his hand, and for a moment, she seemed to. But when he broke to the surface, she wasn’t there. Her favorite flowers were showering over them and the fountain was full, and he knew, somehow, his mother was there.


	45. Mirror Gem

One of Pearl’s duties and passions was to collect gem artifacts. Rose had entrusted her with this job, recognizing her organization skills and passion for history. Rose was certain that whatever gem artifact she entrusted to Peal would be in safe hands.

No one else wanted to do it– everyone else was more interested in using the objects. Taking care of them was a hassle: polishing them and monitoring their stability. Garnet couldn’t be bothered and Amethyst wasn’t responsible enough yet (she had recently lost her pet pebble). Pearl swelled with pride, knowing she was dependable. That only Rose could trust her with this task.

She kept track of the artifacts, but had never used them. She was their librarian more than anything. Gems would “check out” the artifacts and return them when due or finished. Pearl would always inspect them then returned, checking for nicks and cracks.

The silver mirror was cracked when it first came into Pearl’s possession. Rose had found it at the Galaxy Warp. She was strangely quiet when she passed the mirror onto Pearl.

The Mirror was scarcely used until after the war when Pearl became homesick.

Rose was fraternizing with the humans again and the longing for home had shot through Pearl, surprising her.

The mirror was warmer than her hands and the reflective side was gray like murky water. Pearl saw herself reflected back faintly, as if the gem inside didn’t want to capture her reflection.

“Show me the Galaxy Warp,” Pearl said, and then, several other places: Homeworld, Rose’s Gardens on Homeworld, the Lunar Sea Spire at the height of its glory…  
Pearl’s requests slowly became specific, asking for places during specific eras, until Pearl ran out of places and times, and wanted nothing more than to see one being.  
“Show me Rose.”


	46. Ocean Gem

That night, and several after, Steven looked at the night sky, searching for the blinking star Lapis had gazed longfully towards.

“Do you think Lapis made it back home?” he asked.

Garnet and Pearl looked at each other, awkwardly silent. Neither gave him an answer.


	47. House Guest

Steven kept the roll of duct tape in the cheeseburger backpack. Pearl was skeptical of this method but Garnet had nodded. The first time she said, “You can always come back to it later.”

And he did, years later, making confident strides to the geode, unfazed by the storm that shot back as he ripped off the duct tape. He licked his palm, then pressed his hand to the geode, sealing it like caulk. Finally, a permanent fix.

He smiled, turning to the warp pad. He had a lot of things to fix and plenty of water to keep himself hydrated.


	48. Space Race

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm excited about tomorrow night's episode!

Pearl stepped onto the warp pad and placed her hands on her hips. She recalled where this warp pad could take her. The details of the planet’s flora and fauna spread over her like she was actually there. Then Amethyst’s voice slipped through the cracks.

Pearl glumly looked at her feet, still planted on the warp pad.

“Inactive,” she called out. It was just a memory.


	49. Space Race 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Space Race was a hard episode to write a drabble for. I rewrote several versions and nearly settled on this one but got dissatisfied and rewrote again. Looking back on this one now, I like it, even if it can't fit into the canon.

Pearl insisted they build their own spaceship. It was a matter of pride, and she wanted to utilize the new technology she had procured from the parts of Peridot’s ship.

Steven was happy watching her work, hearing her excitement as she listed their itinerary. He hoped Connie managed to get her parent’s permission to come, and just in case, he packed her a sandwich too.


	50. Secret Team

Kiki Pizza stared at the pieces of sodden, ripped paper presented to her at the counter. The print was blurry but it faintly reminded her of her family’s pizza shop logo.  
“I would like to redeem these for a free pizza,” Steven explained hopefully.


	51. Island Adventure

Lars didn’t went to brag– he really really didn’t want to brag about how Sadie was the one who lifted heavy boxes in the relationship, the one who popped open tricky pickle jars and repaired things around the Big Donut.

Sadie didn’t mind that he mostly took the credit, sharing a proud, knowing smirk with Steven.

She didn’t mind a lot of things Lars said or did– at least, that’s what she told herself.

It was Sadie who killed the spiders, Sadie who defeated the monsters in their relationship (whatever their relationship had been– complicated? Toast. Fineto?), but unlike before, Sadie didn’t let Lars take the credit.

Maybe it was because she was mad at him, or maybe she was tired of him sweeping her and her feelings and accomplishments under the rug. It was all of it, really that made her put her foot down and say. “You’re welcome. Don’t take it personally.”

Even though it was.


	52. Keep Beach City Weird!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used to be 'meh' about Ronaldo but since writing these drabbles about him I've grown to appreciate him.

Ronaldo wasn’t himself today and Peedee was concerned.

He didn’t burst into tangents about conspiracy theories during breakfast, and he had come into work, relieving Peedee from the fryer. Peedee would have been happy, but he saw his big brother’s sandals drag on the greasy floor, head downcast. Peedee hadn’t seen Ronaldo like this since the Princess Koala hiatus, but the anime had recently finished for the season, so he knew that wasn’t the problem.

Ronaldo was quiet. He was normal. Peedee never thought he would actually miss his brother’s bizarre behavior. He still had nightmares about the time Ronaldo had mistaken him for an alien and almost performed an autopsy on him (their dad had intervened). And Ronaldo still had a maternity dress in his closet, from that time he went shopping for maternity clothes at the mall because he swore an alien impregnated him. Ronaldo eventually conceded that no, he wasn’t pregnant, but he didn’t return the dress. “Just in case.”

Peedee’s classmates made fun of him for his brother’s passion, and Mr. Fryman had asked Peedee to be there for his brother. Wasn’t it the other way around? The older brother is supposed to look out for the younger brother, but Ronaldo always had his head in the stars, his responsibilities and passions misguided. Peedee felt like he had to grow up faster, and he sometimes hated his brother for forcing that on him.

But he loved his brother, and he suddenly didn’t care if Ronaldo had once pressed a scalpel to his chest, or dragged him to the mall to judge how he looked in maternity dresses, or that, while at the mall he wore a shirt that read in big block letters: “I AM WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL CHILD”, and all the other weird things. Peedee just wanted to see Ronaldo smile like a mad scientist again with a wild, passionate look in his eye.

“So… see anything weird lately?” Peedee asked, hopeful.

“No… everything…” A sigh. “Is normal.”

Then the snake person appeared and Peedee wished he had never asked.


	53. Fusion Cuisine

Connie and Steven linked their fingers together. It was an idle evening on the couch, a movie marathon of Dog Copter. Steven’s hand found the bowl of popcorn, and sometimes Connie’s very pregnant belly.

“What are you thinking about?” Connie smiled, watching the awe and adoration in Steven’s face.

“…I think Connie Jr. is going to be an apple farmer.”

“You’re still on about that? What’s up with you and apple farms?”

“Think of the free apples, Connie.”

He had a point.

“We don’t even know the gender of the baby…” Connie paused and wondered if Steven knew from a gem ability she hadn’t learned of yet. “How are you so sure the baby won’t be a Steven Jr?”

“Because there’s already a Steven Jr,” he pointed out.

Connie stared at him grimly. “You’re not talking about the goat, are you?”

“Who else would I be talking about! He’s my son!” Steven threw his arms up in the air dramatically, then relaxed, smiling. “You know, I saw him the other day. Told him he’s going to be a big brother.”

Connie giggled. “And what did he say?”

“BAH.”

Connie felt the baby kick in reply and laughed.


	54. Garnet's Universe

When Garnet was stressed, the only one she could talk to was Steven. She asked him about his day and listened to his stories, feeling all her cares melt away, holding his tiny hands. He didn’t realize how much he was helping her. It was better this way. She didn’t want to worry him.


	55. Watermelon Steven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for light gore involving plants.

When Rose’s armies started to dwindle she sought out resources on Earth. She needed more allies to recoup the loss but few gems came over to her side, their reasons many. She could not ask the humans to fight, because though this war was for their sake they never asked to fight to start with.

They were strong, in their own way, but also considerably fragile against this enemy. It would be like sending out an army made of glass.

She found her allies in the vines, in the trees and the leaves. They spoke to her first, in faint whispers under her skin. They wanted to fight back. The soil was theirs, they said, not her kind that supplanted them and stole all of its nutrients.

The soil where the Kindergartens were planted was once fertile -- now solid, barren rock. Lifeless and unfeeling. The void created was sharp, and once Rose noticed it, realized what they were doing to this planet, she couldn’t stand for it anymore.

“Are you sure?” she whispered, incredulous.

Vines wrapped around her arms, leaving marks on her pale skin. She understood and let them fight. She did not order them so much as make suggestions. Venus flytraps, vines decorated in thorns, followed her flag and stormed after the enemy at her call.

Moss moved like a current, stilling enemies, subduing them, drowning them.

Captured enemies were worse off, if they didn’t sing for her. She would wet her lips against a seedling, then pry the gem’s mouth open to deposit the seed. It was instantaneous how the seed stirred, roots finding shape within the chest cavity. Then the plants set off like fireworks, shooting out of the gem’s body through open cavities. Finding no room, they made room until the pressure was too much, and the gem collapsed on itself, retreating.

Rose always asked the plants to keep the gemstones intact, but they were vindictive and hurt, and most always they shattered the gemstones into shards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art is by:  
> http://bringbackgoth.tumblr.com/post/123660460569/the-plants-set-off-like-fireworks-shooting-out#notes
> 
> Thank you so much!


	56. Lion 3: Straight to Video

Rose has to hold her breath walking through Lion’s mane. She’s never had to do this before since gems don’t need to breathe, but Steven does. The swell of her tummy reminds her she can’t stay long. She makes quick trips into the pocket dimension, the grass tickling her bare feet.

Greg told her about time capsules once as they poured through the one he made as a kid. She uses the fundamentals of what he told her. She takes pieces of her past, of her legacy, into Lion’s mane: the shirt Greg gave her, a treasure chest, a tattered flag (the last one from the rebellion), and Bismuth.

She thought that was all that was needed until today. She was sitting in Greg’s van when she noticed the tape and remembered the music video they had made years back. “Greg, let’s make a tape. For Steven.”

It was spur of the moment, unlike the rest of the objects sitting under the acacia tree. She crouches down and carefully sets the the tape against the treetrunk. The breathless wind ruffles her curls. She looks up, at the tree, the objects she’s surrounded it with, and she’s humbled by the fact that this will be the last time she sees this place and the objects she has left behind.


	57. Warp Tour

The irony that Steven was allergic to pollen did not go unnoticed by Pearl, but it wasn’t serious, so long as he remembered to sneeze into his fossa. As Steven grew, so did his allergy, and after he blew away a patch of flowers just by sneezing in their general direction did Pearl begin to worry (Amethyst loved it– and asked him to sneeze a little to the right).

It wasn’t the velocity or volume of his sneeze that concerned Pearl, but that Steven seemed worse than before. His eyes were so itchy she was afraid he would scratch his eyeballs out. He could hardly see and was wheezing.

Pearl scooped him up and warped him home, pacing frantically. Once his allergies calmed down she felt comfortable to leave him at the house. She returned with a shopping bag full of allergy meds. She had panicked, unsure which was the perfect one to buy, so she just bought one of each. She tucked one of the pill bottles in the cheeseburger backpack. Next time they would be prepared.


	58. Alone Together

The dress was powder blue and matched her corsage and the forget-me-not flower pinned to Steven’s rental tux.

Everyone took pictures before they left for prom. Greg had an old polaroid camera and after a few shakes Connie and Steven’s images developed on the tiny square of film. Mr. and Dr. Maheswaran’s camera was brand new and the photos promised to be crisp. Pearl simply did as she always did and subconsciously memorized the moment to the finest detail so later she could holo-project the moment.

After pictures and a small family outing, Greg drove them to prom. He expected them to meet him back at the front of the parking lot by eleven but what he didn’t expect was a tall, vibrant youth wearing a powder blue tuxedo dress, waving for his attention.


	59. The Test

Steven swallowed his anger and faced the dungeon for the third time. This test wasn’t about him gaining his self-confidence anymore, or proving himself to the gems. Hearing their self-doubt made him realize that they needed this more than him.


	60. Future Vision

Garnet was falling and there was nothing to latch onto, only sharp rocks waiting for her at the bottom. She started to cradle her body so the impact wouldn’t be quite as harsh when a familiar– but no longer tiny– hand caught hers.

“I got you.”

“You got me.” Garnet smiled, this was unexpected.


	61. On The Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really happy with how this turned out.

“It has to be you,” Rose said, hands folded in her lap.

Pearl was befuddled. “If she won’t come out for you, Rose, what makes you think she’ll listen to me?”

“You’re close, Pearl,” Garnet provided.

Pearl’s shoulders sagged in resignation and she walked between the two gems, approaching Amethyst’s hole. Dust stirred under her feet. Her steps sounded hollow, the many holes like eyes watching her. She chewed her bottom lip and held her fist against her chest, wondering what Amethyst saw in this place.


	62. Horror Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcanon that the gem that was in the lighthouse cared about Ronaldo a lot.

The lighthouse saw Lars approach and tensed up. It had been years since Lars carved his name in the wall. He was taller, hair shorter, but his attitude was still sour. The lighthouse could never forget that face, or the pain Lars had caused, not just to the lighthouse but to Ronaldo too.

The lighthouse and Ronaldo were close. It had seen Ronaldo’s loneliness, manning the club all by himself. It had watched him brood outside facing the ocean and wished it could help in some way. It had hoped that Lars would apologize, but everything but remorse came out of the lanky teen’s mouth and eventually the lighthouse had enough. If he wasn’t going to apologize, then he was going to pay.


	63. Winter Forecast

Steven watched the snow fall outside Connie’s window and he wondered how everyone else was enjoying the storm.

X

Buck was quiet and surly and even though it was night he continued to wear his sunglasses. His father had long given up on that battle. He set his campaign papers aside and sat next to his son, who was cross-legged and sullen that he was snowed in with his dad.

“What are you watching… kiddo?” He tried a jovial smile. Buck edged further from his father and closer to the other side of the couch.

“Nothing,” he lied. He hated when his dad tried to be “hip.”

X

His phone had only one bar and the wifi was out. Ronaldo felt a scream rise up his throat. His dad gave him a look and he swallowed it. He was anxious. He couldn’t update his blog. Just this once, he prayed nothing weird would happen.

X

The busiest days for Fish Stew Pizza were weekends, holidays, and snow days. People always ordered pizza during snowstorms. It was like running to the grocery store for bread and milk.

Kofi did the deliveries that day. He didn’t want his daughters to drive in the snow. He delivered pizzas until the snow reached his knees. He reluctantly called it a night, though people continued to call, hoping to order a pizza.

He had thought he disconnected the phone when Jenny said, “Hey, I gotta delivery from the mayor.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, a sticky note between her fingers with the pizza order.

“Did you tell him that we are closed for tonight?” Kofi snapped, polishing the counters.

Jenny gave a casual shrug. “Daddy, don’t worry– I’ll deliver it.”

Kofi stopped, her tone tipping him off. “You are not going to a boy’s house.”

“Daddy!” Jenny began to whine defensively.

“It’s too dangerous outside. No.”

“Please. It ain’t that bad out.”

“Good. Then you can shovel the car out of the snow.”

He smirked, watching her roll her eyes and saunter out, defeated. Sometimes his daughter’s laziness was a good thing.

X

**Buck 8:37PM**

_Hey man. Talk to me._

**Sour Cream 8:37PM**

_That bad already?_

**Buck 8:38PM**

_My old man is trying to rap battle with me. Not cool._

**Sour Cream 8:39PM**

_Word._

**Buck 8:39PM**

_I tried ordering egg rolls. Get Jenny to come over. But they’re closed._

**Sour Cream 8:40PM**

_It’s also too dangerous out. Safety first._

**Buck 8:41PM**

_Sorry, man. I panicked._

**Sour Cream 8:42PM**

_And Jenny’s family doesn’t sell egg rolls._

X

Lars left work early, before the snow storm warning was in effect. He said he felt nauseous and Sadie felt sorry for him. She had just finished watching the new episode of Canine Court and felt it was fair to relieve him since he’d covered her for that.

The snow came in little flecks, and then a soft powder. That’s when she checked her phone for the weather and learned it would only get worse. She became worried about driving home later tonight and wished Lars was still there. She wouldn’t mind if they were snowed in together.

She didn’t have any customers since Lars left and it made closing easy. As she was sweeping the floor, her mom called.

“Are you almost done? I’m coming to pick you up.”

Sadie blushed, the same feeling swimming in her gut as when her mom handed her a lunch every morning. She yearned to prove she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She was an independent woman who wasn’t sure how to gently break it to her mom that she didn’t need to be coddled. She could make her own lunches and didn’t need dating advice, or a ride through the snow. As always, this wasn’t an offer or a question, and her mom hung up, already on her way.

Sadie looked out the window and forgot her pride. The snow was slowly climbing, halfway up to the door handle of the shop. She didn’t want to drive through this. No one should, especially her mom. She called to tell her to stay home. The break room was comfortable enough and there was food in the shop. She could stay, and then she wouldn’t need to commute to work in the morning. But her mom didn’t answer the phone. She never texted and drove, and didn’t even use the bluetooth attachment.

Sadie put the broom in the closet, donned her coat, and dimmed the lights as she waited, writing a text message.

**Sadie 8:42PM**

_Drive safe._

X

Steven started to feel Connie’s eyes on him and he looked away from the falling snow outside her window, gaze settling onto her cheeks. Both their faces colored, Connie softly smiled to Steven’s sheepish expression.

“What are you thinking about?” she whispered, her voice so low and Greg’s snoring so loud Steven almost didn’t hear her.

“Just… thinking about everyone. Wondering how they’re doing.”

Connie laughed, then quickly covered her mouth, gaze flitting down the hallway. Her parents didn’t stir from their room and she felt safe to sit next to Steven. She leaned back into the couch and they watched the snow fall together, the warmth of her elbow against his arm.


	64. Maximum Capacity

Amethyst had stolen the picture frame some years ago. It was on the sales rack– no one would miss it. It was pretty and it looked like it belonged in her junk pile. It was on sale, meaning no one had wanted it anyway. Amethyst could relate to the picture frame, or any of the other “junk” she kept in her room. She had been left alone, a reject. The broken tennis rackets, steering wheels, and plethora of stuff had no sentience, no thought or feeling, but she felt for them.

Now she was sulking in her room, kicking piles into messier piles, stomping on broken bottles and glass and venting her feelings. The picture frame winked at her from the corner of her eye and she stopped in front of its pile. She considered kicking the pile but stopped herself, restraining herself for the first time tonight.

She bent to pick it up, wiped off the bread crumbs and something yellow and sticky. She licked it. Honey mustard sauce, circa 1989. She turned it over in her hands. The broken picture frame in Greg’s garage came to mind.

She made a lot of tough decisions that night. Pearl’s gloating when she asked for help felt like needles under the skin, but Garnet’s presence helped soften the blow. Before dawn rose, most of Greg’s stuff had been moved into her room and she had organized a box for him to keep (with no help from Pearl– that was all her). Inside was the picture frame, now holding the picture of Greg and Rose.

The picture frame had been junk and she had found it and given it a purpose. Greg smiled when he saw it, teared up even. What a sap, Amethyst thought, rolling her eyes, avoiding his hug. She wasn’t able to dodge Steven’s grasp, and he held her there like she belonged.


	65. Marble Madness

The meetings were unremarkable and mostly filled with Peridot’s complaints.

“I found the source of my setbacks. There is an infestation of Stevens on Earth.”

“What’s a ‘Steven?’”

“Short. Fluffy hair.”

Jasper’s eyes narrowed. “How many?”

“Just one.”

“You can’t handle even one?!”

“I was about to mention the Gems also inhabiting the planet,” Peridot said through clenched teeth.

“This is still a waste of my time,” Jasper decided, but orders were orders. “Let’s make this quick.”


	66. Rose's Scabbard

Before the war the land was barren. The first life that sprang from it was Rose’s vines, disarming gems, snapping their weapons in half. After the war the land was renamed the strawberry battlefield. The land’s history was dark, but it smelled sweet with promise.


	67. The Message

It took less than a minute for Lapis to learn how to use the new communication hub. It took days to figure out how to send an untraceable message.

Technology was her weakness and she had to work sneakily. She had already aroused suspicions for arriving from Earth after several millennia of absence.

Yet, despite her grapples with the new gem technology and the fear she would get caught, she managed to send a short message.

She hoped her efforts and the risk was worth it, and that Steven was safe. Yet as she boarded the ship, she knew they would meet again.


	68. Political Power

Steven noticed the tarp covering three light cannons, their shape and pinkness distinct. He heard Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl mutter, the setting sun in their eyes, darkness descending in their voices.


	69. The Return

Jasper stopped in her tracks, the blast from the ship deflected. The crisp tonal sound of the shield was unmistakable. It sounded like a gong, rattling Jasper’s eardrums, echoing memory.

In that moment, by sound alone, she was thousands of years back on the battlefield, and behind her was Rose not breaking a sweat, a protective, motherly fury in her eyes.

Jasper turned. Rose’s shield was there, but Rose wasn’t there. Just a child.


	70. The Return 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think all of us were surprised that Peridot knew Lapis healed Steven's gem.
> 
> Set after the on screen events in The Return

Before Lapis was placed in a chartreuse jail cell she was led into a small room that could only fit her and Peridot. Jasper stood outside the door, arms folded, keeping watch and listening.

There was a table in-between her and Peridot. Lapis did not watch as Peridot’s fingers swirled in the air before forming a monitor. She stared at her own hands, at her feet. She did not look up when Peridot began to speak into the screen. 

“Log Date: three two four. This is Peridot, conducting the interrogation of Lapis Lazuli, my assigned informant for the Earth mission. The subject has been caught withholding valuable information, risking the mission.” Peridot’s eyes rested on her, steely. “Now commencing the interrogation. Tell me, Lapis, what really happened? What is the Steven? Tell us everything and Yellow Diamond may go easy on you.” 

Lapis lifted her head up. Her eyes were gray, weary, and lined. She knew Yellow Diamond wouldn’t be lenient with her, and she couldn’t protect Steven anymore. Lying was a mistake and had made things worse.

So she told the truth. There was nothing left to lose.


	71. Jailbreak

Disarmed, Peridot instantly surrendered. She was outnumbered and the Pearl and Amethyst had easily drawn their weapons. Peridot considered pulling out one of the bombs stored in her hair but held back. She didn’t want the ship to take any damage. However, from the rumbling below them, she knew Jasper wasn’t taking the same precautions.

She surrendered, she supposed, like a coward. The Amethyst wrapped her up in the whip like a cocoon and snidely pressed her heel into her side, keeping her down.

“That was easy,” the Amethyst said.

The Pearl crossed her arms. “Yes… that was rather anticlimactic.”

Easy. Anticlimactic. For Peridot it was humiliating.


	72. Jailbreak 2

After trying the force field a third time, Amethyst slouched against the wall, staring at her singed hand. Pearl was in the cell next to her, and in her frustration, Amethyst took advantage of that. She couldn’t vent on the forcefield and the last time she had pounded on the walls of her cell Jasper had slammed her fist and told her to knock it off. Normally, Amethyst would be glad to challenge a threat, but this was Homeworld and she was too afraid to. She saw what Jasper had done to Garnet.

“Are you happy now?” Amethyst began sourly. “You’re finally going back to Homeworld. Just like you wanted.”

Pearl bowed her head on the other side of the wall. She stared at the floor, at the Diamond Authority signia, missing a distinct pink shape.

“No,” she admitted. “Not like this.”


	73. Full Disclosure

Steven watched the waves erase the deep indentations in the sand from Malachite’s claws. The phone was pressed to his cheek, Connie’s voice urgent.

He didn’t know where to start.


	74. Open Book

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Planned to write this before Sworn to the Sword came out. Warning for blood and eye trauma.

Connie held her hand against her face, blood twining around her arm like the red stripe of a candy cane. She blinked and when she held her hand away from her eye, she found that half the world went out of focus, and then, suddenly dim.

With her other eye, she saw Steven run towards her, worried tears in his eyes, fending off enemies with his shield.

“Connie!”

She stood up, held her hand, rich with blood, behind her back and smiled. “I’m okay.”

Later, when the fight was over, and after Steven found he couldn’t bring the eyesight back in her left eye (the eye had disintegrated, leaving only an empty socket) she placed a hand on his shoulder, and smiled again. A smile that was too nonchalant, too happy and hopeful. A smile that squelched his insides.

“I’m like Lisa now,” Connie said, wearing an eye patch and Steven wished they were still kids and everything was pretend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two strong headcanons I have about Connie:
> 
> -She will lose an eye.
> 
> -She will grow up to be a children's/teen book author.


	75. Joy Ride

Peridot was on the way back to her escape pod after gathering supplies and scoping out her surroundings. She traveled through the corn fields to avoid confrontation. Her only company were her complaints and her steadily growing list of problems.

She was near the site of her crash landing when she heard something whistle upwards and a yellow flare illuminated the night sky. Her jaw dropped and she ran in the other direction.

X

Pearl followed to the flare, leading the way for Garnet and Amethyst. They had assumed Steven was sleeping, and that was for the best. They were coming for Peridot, and holding back wasn’t an option.


	76. Say Uncle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was determined to write a drabble for this episode and make it work.

“Did I really fall asleep?” Steven yawned, stretching as he sat back up. He had been meditating, hoping this would help him learn how to summon his shield, but he had fallen asleep dreaming about something… something about forty or fifty vans and a talking pizza wearing sunglasses.

“And Lion made a new friend…” Steven said to himself. He couldn’t remember anything else and after fully waking up he decided to try summoning his shield again.

This time it worked.


	77. Story for Steven

The fence had been there for almost two hundred years, ever since William Dewey made it ashore on Beach City. The fence was part of the agreement to allow the humans to live there. They had planned to terraform the surrounding area and build a moat, but Amethyst refused to commit to the role of the crocodile.

The fence had changed over the years. At first it was a finely trimmed hedge, then a wooden fence with white pickets. When Greg demolished it, it had been a chain length fence. The day after he came, Pearl proposed they rebuild it immediately, but Rose placed her hand on Pearl’s shoulder, eyes on Greg, and said, “Let’s leave it.”


	78. Shirt Club

“Why not just let Pearl do it?” Amethyst said, throwing the paper back at Garnet.

Garnet straightened the instructions. “We need to do this. Together.”

Pearl was already halfway done with her stool. It looked exactly like the picture. Garnet was already done and hers looked more like a sculpture than a chair. Amethyst had yet to try.

“See.” Amethyst gestured at Pearl, humming as she worked. “She likes doing it–”

“Amethyst.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes, picking up a hammer and wooden rod, half-heartedly putting together her own stool.


	79. Love Letters

“He… He resideth near the Big Donut,” Jamie choked out, his fist clenched dramatically.

“Really?” Barb said, eyes widening over the book of coupons addressed to Steven. “I think I’ll stop by Sadie’s work after this delivery. Do you want me to get you anything? A donut?” She watched Jamie clutch his chest, falling to the floor in anguish. “Maybe an ice cream?”


	80. Reformed

Pearl didn't doubt that Amethyst picked this form out just to spite her. Before Amethyst took too much damage and retreated back into her gem, they had been arguing.

Pearl was meticulous. She liked order, objects existing harmoniously together, sorted by shape, size, and color. Disorder, even if it didn't directly affect her, knocked her off balance, and re-organizing it made her feel like she was taking control, even for a fleeting moment.

The shoulder strap hanging off Amethyst’s shoulder was a subtle jab towards Pearl. Once she noticed it Pearl pulled up back up, but Amethyst gave a surly shrug and it fell back out of place. Pearl chased Amethyst around the temple and Amethyst taunted her. She moved Pearl’s swords, tilted the portraits just an inch-- enough to upset Pearl. She laughed, hearing Pearl stop to fix her messes.

They did this until Garnet had enough, resting a firm hand on Amethyst's shoulder and also Pearl’s.

They stopped chasing each other, but Amethyst still taunted Pearl from afar, and Pearl stared at Amethyst’s drooped shoulder strap with contempt. Pearl was so agitated she forgot to apologize, and Amethyst didn’t mind. In the midst of her fun she forgot why she was angry in the first place.

Eventually Pearl accepted that she couldn’t control the eyesore and learned to ignore it too. But that didn’t stop her from readjusting it when she had the chance: only when Amethyst was fast asleep.


	81. Sworn to the Sword

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers to Sworn to the Sword.
> 
> I'll be posting drabble responses to the Steven Bomb this week. Because of the quick time writing them they may have grammatical errors but I will post an edited version when it's available.

After the war we won’t have to worry where the enemy is, if they can hear us whisper.

Or hear us laugh, seeing an opening.

After the war we can finally let our guard down. You’ll lay down your sword and shield and pick up your trowel. I’ll let my sword rest and take your hand.


	82. Rising Tides/Crashing Skies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for episode Rising Tides/Crashing Skies.

Amethyst had only moved once in her life, shorter than Pearl and Garnet’s but longer than Steven’s. 

The first move had been simple. All she had to move was herself and her pet pebble from the Kindergarten. She wondered where her pet pebble was sometimes, buried under her hoard which Peal mistakenly called a mess.

“Are we really moving?” 

Garnet didn’t answer so Pearl did. “If Garnet says we’re moving, we’re moving. We’ll have to form a strategy. . .” She tapped a pale finger against her lips thoughtfully. “Obviously, we’ll have to start with your room, Amethyst.”

Amethyst crossed her arms defensively. “Or we could, y’know. Not move.” She couldn’t imagine anywhere else as comfy as her hoard pile in its present state or her hole back at the Kindergarten. But mostly, she was too lazy to move her stuff, and she intended to move all of it if necessary.

She glanced at Garnet hopefully but the taller gem walked past both her and Pearl and into her own room. Pearl crossed her arms testily. “Well, that’s that. We should get started.” She looked at Steven, her eyes softening slightly on the boy. “You too, Steven.”

“Aww, I’m with Amethyst. Do we really have to move?”

“Garnet said we would.” Pearl shrugged, her voice swinging an octave up, almost as if she were about to break into song. The prospect of a fresh start and organizing her things brought out a skip in her carefully articulated steps. 

As Pearl stepped into her own room she glanced at Amethyst from the corner of her eye, smirking arrogantly. “If you need help packing your room, I’ll gladly help.”

Sometimes Amethyst wished the temple door had hinges so she could slam it in Pearl’s smug face.


	83. Keeping it Together 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the episode Keeping it Together

They had advised Rose not to return to the battlefields. The enemy knew she would come back for their friends, their comrades. There were also mines and traps that their leader could trigger. Garnet could see futures she didn’t want.

Rose ignored their pleas and returned to past battlefields, searching for gems in hibernation at best, or at worst in shattered pieces. 

Garnet often found her sitting in the middle of the battlefield, vines scouting the area in all directions, writhing.

“I can’t find Topaz,” Rose whispered, worried.

When Rose faltered, Garnet tried to be strong, though she was scared too. Rose was too afraid to show this side of herself to the others, Pearl especially. 

“We’ll find them,” Garnet reassured and Rose believed her, because she wanted to.


	84. Keeping it Together 2 / Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the episode Keeping it Together.
> 
> Contains horror, you are forewarned.

Garnet knew the human concept of ghosts but didn’t understand it. The dead could not come back as projections, and supposing they could, they meant no harm, their cold hands flowing straight through flesh like cumulus clouds.

But the dead could come back. She learned in that dark cavern. She recognized their white silhouettes, beaming out of the mass of shards. She knew their names, their stories. Who they once were had been reduced to splinters and then forced together in a painful algorithm. 

They struggled to project their individual forms. They flickered, fizzled, blinked, and tried and tried again. They finally took shape and reached for her, pleading. They recognized her as much as she did them. 

They wanted help, but Garnet could not help them. She wasn’t sure what scared her most: that she could do nothing for them, that their existence desecrated her entire being, that Steven saw this. Fear skirted up her conscience, a stampede of thoughts and emotions running through her head. 

And then her third eye opened. She saw paths and began to walk them, looking for recourse, something positive to come out of this darkness. But the paths she saw first were reflected back at her, glinting through their four large eyes. She began to split, afraid to see anymore.

Ghosts were real, and if Homeworld captured them, they would become ghosts also.


	85. We Need to Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the episode We Need to Talk.
> 
> I'm really happy with how this one turned out!

“A band,” Pearl said.

“Yeah!” Amethyst bounced, waving the drumsticks in the air enthusiastically. Pearl took one of the drumsticks from Amethyst and threw it.

“Catch,” she said dryly, her eyes narrowing at Greg.

Greg swallowed. Every moment alone with Pearl felt like war. She was passive-aggressive, defensive of her place with Rose, and he tried to be congenial, to set up a peace treaty. He scratched the back of his neck, ruffling his large mane of hair. A feeling in his gut told him this wouldn’t work. Pearl was unmoving and wouldn’t allow anything but her way.

“Rose told me you’re really good. That you used to play piano and mandolin. . .”

Pearl smirked. “I can play every instrument you humans have.”

“. . .It’s not a competition,” he said, meaning more than the band. “I just want to have fun. To enjoy each other's company.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to outshine you in front of Rose.”

Greg reddened, but swallowed his pride, leaving the temple before he said what was on his mind. 

X

The night was cold, but the bundle in his lap was warm. Steven had fallen asleep over fifteen minutes ago but Greg continued to play his guitar. He wasn’t sure if he was playing for Steven, or for Rose, the gem on Steven’s belly glinting in the moonlight.

“Mind if I join you?” a familiar voice asked. Greg jolted. Pearl’s voice normally came with biting comments that slithered under his skin. Her voice was hesitant, strangely kind, as if afraid he would refuse her. Because why wouldn’t he? She had pushed him away when he had tried.

Greg said nothing, continuing to strum his guitar, and Pearl took that as a yes of sorts. Humans could be needlessly complicated, not voicing their feelings.

He stared, watching her pull the mandolin from her gem and tune it. Pearl plucked the strings, testing it, and satisfied, ran her fingers over it, with gentle ease. Greg watched, awestruck. Rose was right. She really was good, and Pearl was right: she was better than him. 

But that didn’t stop him from strumming his guitar, following her lead, their voices carrying in the wind.


	86. Chille Tid / noyade 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the episode Chille Tid

Drowning is remaining vertical, climbing an invisible ladder.

That’s what Lapis feels like she's doing: drowning. Climbing. Climbing, reaching, but no break to the surface comes, and the ladder is disappearing fast under her feet.


	87. Chille Tid / noyade 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the episode Chille Tid

“I’m Lapis. Lapis Lazuli,” she repeated, her voice silent, echoing in the cold confines of the silver mirror. 

“I’m Lapis. Lapis Lazuli,” she reminded herself. She shuddered because she'd nearly forgotten who she was.

“I’m Lapis. Lapis Lazuli,” she said to Steven, hearing her own voice for the first time in over a thousand years. 

“I’m not Lapis anymore.” She closed her eyes, refusing to see herself reflected in the water.


	88. Cry for Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the new episode that aired.

The first time Amythest met Sardonyx the fusion picked her up just like Pearl always did. Her long nose poked Amethyst's tummy and she batted it away. 

“C’mon, it tickles!” She laughed. 

Sardonyx’s nose sounded like a tuning fork against Amethyst's hands. She smiled wide, the gap in her teeth showing. Amethyst had no tact and felt the urge to wedge her hand into the gap, and Sardonyx was happy to oblige her. 

Sardonyx was a lot of fun. Fireworks burst from her palms at the flick of her wrist and she could perfectly guess the card Amethyst picked from the deck (Ace of Diamonds. Presto!). She pulled scarves from her throat and found a footlong sub sandwich behind Amethyst’s ear. It seemed there was nothing Sardonyx could not do.

Sardonyx was the second fusion Amethyst met. She knew Ruby and Sapphire were Garnet but never imagined she could do that too. That she could be a part of that. That she could be that close to Garnet, or to Pearl. Rose even. 

She wondered what it was like, and she was impatient. As soon as Sardonyx unfused and Pearl and Garnet reemerged, Amethyst jumped into Pearl’s arms, eager to start.


	89. Keystone Motel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the new episode!

“They went where?” Amethyst asked again. Pearl had murmured the first time. Now her voice was only a little clearer. It sounded as if she had been crying the past half hour.

“The next state over-- Keystone.”

“You mean the Keystone state?”

“Correct. Keystone.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes, “Ugh. That place has square pizza.”

“Pizza is circular, Amethyst,” Pearl replied quietly. 

“Not there it ain’t."

“Amethyst... your grammar,” Pearl started half-heartedly, then sighed. She had been fighting a lot of battles lately (and losing). She let Amethyst win this one. “I have to go. . . go find Peridot.” She started for the warp pad but Amethyst stopped her.

“You know that’s not why she’s mad.”

The house felt quieter. Pearl rubbed her arm, staring at the floor. 

“I know,” she said. “But I don’t know what else to do. I’ve already apologized.” Her nose was runny again and the corners of her eyes felt hot and wet. She’d best be going soon.

“Hey.” Amethyst stopped her again. “You wanna like, I dunno. Clean my room or something?”

Pearl turned in disbelief. “Why? Are you looking for something?” 

Amethyst occasionally asked for Pearl’s help, always when she couldn’t find something, despite her claims that she “had a system.”

Amethyst shrugged, beginning to regret her outburst. “Just. Only for an hour okay? That’s all you get.”

A sort of smile tugged Pearl’s lips. “That’s all I’ll need.”

Amethyst was relieved to hear that arrogant lilt in Pearl’s voice. “You wanna bet? If you can’t finish it in an hour you’re taking me out for ice cream.”

“Well then, don’t get your hopes up too high.” Pearl dryly laughed. The sound was forced but Amethyst was happy to see Pearl try. She hated seeing others sad. It was like looking in a mirror.

X

Pearl had lost the bet and Amethyst had two ice cream cones in each hand, five scoops each, covered in sprinkles and fry bits. She had hoped Pearl would make a comment about Amethyst’s grotesque concoction or reprimand her for being excessive. But she didn’t. That somehow made the ice cream a little less satisfying.

She ate both, including the paper napkins wrapped around the cones. 

“Hey, you gonna eat that?” she asked Pearl. Of course, Pearl wasn’t going to. She never ate. When she asked for a vanilla ice cream for herself, they both knew she had no intention of actually eating it. They were sitting at the edge of the pier, legs dangling over the edge. Pearl was staring at the sunset, her ice cream rapidly melting in the heat, pooling on her hand. Woodenly, she handed it to Amethyst. The purple gem ate it all in one bite.

“Do you think Garnet will ever forgive me?” she asked openly. Amethyst wasn’t sure if she was talking to herself, the sunset, or her. 

“I’d forgive you, P.”

“I’m talking about Garnet. Not us.”

“So? So you messed up. I mess up all the time and you two always forgive me.”

Pearl frowned. “But I don’t mess up. At least, I’m not supposed to.”

Amethyst shrugged, leaning closer to Pearl. Her hand found Pearl’s, sticky with melted ice cream. “You know what: screw Garnet.” She stood up, still holding Pearl’s hand. “We don’t need her to feel strong. C’mon. Let’s form Opal.”

Pearl’s eyes widened as their fingers intertwined. “. . .We only fuse for serious situations.”

“Yeah, well this seems pretty serious to me.”

Pearl opened her mouth, then closed it, looking away. “You really want to fuse with me? After what I’ve done?”

Amethyst didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I do. I would have done the same thing if I could. You’re lucky you know how to fix the communications hub.” 

Amethyst tugged, and Pearl slowly rose up. She tentatively started to dance and Amethyst didn’t pull away. She pulled the taller gem closer and for the first time in awhile, Pearl really smiled.


	90. Onion Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the new episode tonight!

1.

“Amethyst!” Greg shouted mid-sentence. He was just introducing Rose to Vidalia when Amethyst sniffed out a painting of a bowl of fruit and took out a good chunk out of the canvas. It didn’t taste like fruit, but it was still great. She wanted more.

Vidalia grinned, crooked. She shrugged, still smiling, not taking her eyes off Amethyst. “It’s all right. That painting was shitty anyway.”

2.

The painting of Rose that hung over the door was one of Vidalia’s paintings. She said Rose inspired her, but Amethyst inspired her more. There was one painting of Rose and dozens of Amethyst. Amethyst posed, as herself, and then as the hawk perched on her shoulder. She was animated, fluid and unafraid to express herself. She was an ideal model, Vidalia had said.

“You can take a painting if you’d like.” Vidalia offered, otherwise she would start from scratch and paint over the used canvases.

“Anything?” Amethyst asked.

Vidalia nodded.

Out of all the paintings, of herself, Greg, and bowls of fruit and pudding, Amethyst chose the painting of Rose.

3.

Vidalia visited with Onion in tow. Vidalia used the front door, Onion jumped through the screen. Stephen shouted, unheard, the two ladies walking past.

“Lemme show you my room.” Garnet and Pearl were still too busy not talking to each other to notice or protest against her letting a human into the temple.

“Nice aesthetic.” Vidalia commented, taking a seat on one of the piles like it was a couch.

“Awww thanks.” Amethyst took a seat next to her and they admired her collection. “I knew you would understand.”


	91. Historical Friction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the episode tonight!

Years later Pearl produces a hologram of Steven’s first play, kept in meticulous detail. She’s played it several times over the years, sometimes when she’s happy, always when she’s lonely or doubts herself. The moment reminds her when Steven asked for her help, when she thought no one else would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked this episode but it was pretty dry on inspiring me.


	92. Friend Ship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the new episode tonight!

“Remember your training.” Jasper said when Earth came into view. A tiny blue blip in the middle of the solar system. 

Peridot had rolled her eyes at the comment, “I don’t need to. That’s what you’re there for.”

Of course she remembered her training. All gems, no matter what role they were made for were given basic training. Peridot loved basic training, even though she wasn’t supposed to. She loved feeling her arm warm up as a burst of energy culminated into a blast. She liked the recoil, the rush. She liked running away and in her sparse free time she came up with witty one liners. To show the enemies who was boss (hint: her). 

The training had been laughable, she never used it. She performed her duties, maintenance checks, repairs. Droll technical duty. She almost envied Jasper though she feared the other gem’s role and what it entailed. Jasper’s job was unpredictable, never a dull moment, and Peridot was tired of being bored.

She was so used to the rhythm of everything working out to the letter that when things finally became interesting she got frustrated. They broke her machines, they threatened her work and her life. They were a nuisance, the catalyst that forced her to finally use her basic training. 

Real battle was different from simulations. She couldn’t predict their movements like the machines or other Peridots she had been paired up with. The Crystal Gems were something else, the Pearl could fight, and she had never seen an Amethyst move like that before. The Garnet was a fusion, an abnormality. They were unpredictable, they made her think- differently. Not in just route patterns, nor did they give her the time to plan. She had to think on her own and think fast. 

And she loved it. Against all reason she loved it. She had missed the shot, the blast sent her to the floor but she had hit that pillar. She stared at her arm, fingers smoking. The Pearl advanced on her and on instinct alone she trapped the other gem and hurled her away. 

She was deterred when later her trap failed and the Steven claimed her foot. Fine. Let him have it. She could make a new foot. She did, out of archaic gemtech she found a mile away from the even older ship she had escaped from. 

How did they find her? No matter, she had time. The Steven looked exhausted, they would retreat to allow him to rest. But they had her foot. They were one step ahead of her.

It was a game of cat and mouse that she quickly learned but unlike everything else she had picked up on, continued to be stimulating. She started to formulate plans, refined her one liners. She practiced firing her arm cannon on targets and once that became two easy, practiced dual wielding. She was used to the recoil, feet firm on the ground. She learned rapid fire, and how to dodge- not flounder away.

The distress calls to Homeworld , at one time a priority were gradually forgotten. Maybe she had given up, accepted that no one was coming back for her. Or maybe she had finally begun to live.


	93. Nightmare Hospital

Mr. and Dr. Maheswaran knew their newborn baby was going to be someone great. Their certainty was probably the rush of parenthood, Mr. Maheswaran almost said out loud, but his wife knew him well, reading his expression and shaking her head. The little bundle in her lap was sleeping restlessly, as if eager to grow and show her full potential.

The couple huddled together around their daughter in the hospital bed and took turns holding her. In the hush of night, past visiting hours, they whispered amongst themselves, their soothing voices washing over Connie. 

They talked about her future. 

“She’ll make a fine neurosurgeon.”

“And tennis player.”

“And she’ll learn violin.”

Connie was barely a day old and they already had her life planned out for her. But children were unstoppable forces of the unforeseen, and no matter how much they prepared, other parents assured them a curveball would hit them soon enough.

They expected the worse. The rose pink sword Connie had tried to masquerade as a coat stand confirmed Dr. Maheswaran's greatest fears. Seeing her daughter wield the sword with the same finesse as her violin made her question her fears. 

She let Connie hold the sword long after the gem clusters were bubbled, to respect her daughter's wishes and in case another “patient” arrived on their way to the car. The lion rode in the front seat with her and if it weren’t for the recent events she would be imagining how many lint rollers she would need to remove the pink hair.

She adjusted the rearview mirror and rested her gaze on Connie and Steven sitting in the backseat, laughing, their fingers brushing together for a brief second, thinking she wasn’t looking. But she was a mom. She was always looking. 

As she turned the key in the ignition she wondered if they made bumper stickers that said, “My child is a hero of Earth.” It would fit well with the honor roll bumper sticker they already had on the car.


	94. Sadie's Song

Inner monologue was something Sadie had to learn. Her mother was always direct, and growing up under her care, Sadie had naturally picked that up. 

“That looks fun.”

“That looks nice.” 

She used to say those things and she had been thrilled initially when her mother surprised her by gifting her ballet shoes, and then a baseball bat and catcher’s mitt. She used to like stuffed animals but the teddy bears piling up next to her closet were in the way. She meant to tell her mother she lost interest in softball and she had enough stuffed animals to form a country but by the time she wanted to say something, Sadie had already learned how to keep her thoughts to herself.


	95. Catch and Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for tonight's episode!

i. 

Amethyst’s place as messiest gem was quickly taken when soon as Peridot moved into their bathroom. Peridot was curious about all items in the house, their uses and whether they could be implemented as weapons. She scattered the ones she didn’t find useful and hoarded the ones she liked in the shower. Pearl was afraid to say it, but Peridot was worse than Amethyst. 

“I think Peridot has been using my toothbrush,” Steven said, wiping the sleep sand from the corners of his eyes.

“Why do you say that?” Pearl asked. She had heard of convicts whittling at toothbrushes until the point was sharp and could be used as a weapon.

Steven held up his toothbrush, the bristles worn and flat as a pancake. He squinted at it. 

“I think... she’s been brushing with it?” Maybe I should buy her one too when I go to the store. What flavor of toothpaste do you think she would like?”

ii.

Steven explained what the toilet was used for and the back of Peridot’s neck went cold with realization. She was glad that right afterward, he told her how to use the shower and its purpose.

iii.

They still didn’t trust Peridot enough to allow her to leave the temple, at least not unattended. Pearl had found a leash in one of Amethyst’s piles, and after giving it a good wash, hooked it to Peridot.

Peridot had been restless lately, cooped up in the temple. Besides taking her along on missions, tied to the leash, Pearl started to walk her too. This worked well for them until they came upon a dog park and Peridot decided to pick a fight with every breed twice her size.


	96. Catch and Release 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This episode inspired me a lot.

i.

Peridot was tired of not being taken seriously. In the few moments of free time she had, she pilfered through the garbage for scrap metal. When a ship or machine was reported defective, she gutted it, leaving it hollow. Most of what she found was useless and was quickly thrown away a second time. What worked, she kept. Her project was not a secret. What she took, no one missed. The few that had caught her had pieced together her project and laughed, but that did not dissuade her purpose. It did the opposite and encouraged her. Their teasing, her frustration, and the bite of anger fueled ehr. It was thanks to them that she finished ahead of schedule.

The limb enhancers, though her own invention, were alien to her. They did not fit right the first time. She shapeshifted a little. That was hard. She couldn’t even summon her own weapon, but she had learned somehow to deal with this. The limb enhancers fit and she was tall. She felt confident, powerful even. She could get used to this. She was already.

Not long afterward she filed a request to transfer to a new division. None of the other gems working in that division knew her. She could make a fresh start there.

ii.

Peridot was always watching Yellow Diamond. She admired how her superior walked and talked, the way she smirked, ever so menacingly. She was the perfect Gem, the perfect role model, and Peridot began to do more than admire. She started to imitate her. 

She would memorize how she folded her arms neatly across her chest, that cold, penetrating broodiness in her golden eyes, the way she slowly turned her head and glared. The intensity of her stare and her disappointment flecked with pity made the other Gems feel faint, and Peridot had seen one gem lose their physical form on the spot under Yellow Diamond’s gaze. 

Peridot once asked her what it was like to regenerate. Yellow Diamond said she didn’t know and Peridot smiled at that, feeling like they had something in common.

The bathroom mirror was the first time she had seen her reflection and for a moment she was distracted. She forgot that she was cornered by the Crystal Clods and the Steven and tested her imitations of Yellow Diamond in the mirror. Flawless, just as she expected, she thought before a knock startled her and she fell off the sink.


	97. When it Rains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the new episode!

The soup was left simmering on the stove, on low heat. Peridot could hear the steam whistling from behind her, before she stepped over the threshold into the rain. 

It reminded her of the shower, it was wet and pouring down on her skin, strangely gentle. She followed the sound of Steven’s laughter and he dragged her into the mud. They made mud pies and mud cakes. When she asked Steven what those things were he explained they were edible items, usually, but the ones they were compacting into clumps with their hands were for play. They weren’t edible. 

Peridot couldn’t remember the last time she played in the dirt, it was nice and she hoped they would do it again soon.


	98. Back to the Barn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for tonight's episode!

Steven had the day marked on his calendar. The Beach City Underground Wrestling ring would be having it’s tag team tournament soon. Steven dug out his Tiger Millionaire costume. He dusted off the briefcase and found the little mask with the cat nose on it. There was plenty of margarine in the fridge to use (fingers crossed Amethyst hadn’t found it first!). All there was left to do was clean his costume. It was in the laundry basket as he made his way to the warp pad.

Amethyst and Pearl were in the kitchen and halfway to the warp pad Steven set the basket down and pulled the Tiger Millionaire costume from the reaches of the rest of his dirty clothes. “Hey, Amethyst. Gettin’ ready for the tag team tournament coming up.” He winked, smirking in that sweet, playful way of his.

Pearl smiled and Amethyst sucked in a breath, “uhhh. . .I kinda just asked Pearl if she would do it with me this year.”

“WHAAAAT?!” Steven dropped the Tiger Millionaire costume to place both hands on his cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Steven.” Pearl said, smile tilting. “Amethyst thought you wouldn’t. . .well, you can do it. I only accepted becaus-”

Steven rested a hand on her knee and slowly shook his head. “You should totally do it.” He whispered in awe. 

“You really think so?” Pearl chuckled, blushing blue.

After that, Steven abandoned the laundry to find a clean sheet of paper and his markers to make fliers.

“So, what’s your wrestling name going to be?” Amethyst asked conversationally, opening the fridge. “Nice!” She said, discovering the margarine.

Pearl shrugged, picking up the basket of laundry. But as she walked to the warp pad to start the laundry, she was already making plans: her costume, her persona, her name. . .

Pearl had meant to only humor Amethyst but the more she thought of it, the more she took it seriously and she couldn’t wait to see Steven’s fliers, or for their first match.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably be late updating next week's drabbles. Take care, until then see you all soon! <3


	99. Too Far

i.

Peridot did not mind the sound of her own voice. It was soothing actually, hearing her findings helped her unwind, and often she would find a detail she had overlooked, just by listening to her old logs.

It also helped her develop a sense of who she was then, and who she was becoming now. She sometimes became embarrassed by her naivety in past logs, but seeing how far she had come helped her, no matter how difficult the task.

Nothing- not even her data logs- had prepared her for Earth. She kept record of her time on Earth, at first for her mission, for Yellow Diamond, but her priorities quickly gravitated towards her own comfort and sanity. She talked to her screen, having no one else to listen. She thought about how later, when she returned to Homeworld she would listen to these recordings later and laugh. Or cringe. Maybe a little bit of both.

Her limb enhancers were dumped somewhere close to the Galaxy Warp. The ocean current undoubtedly moved them further out and separated the parts. Along with her limb enhancers, her logs were lost. Initially this upset her, but as time on Earth passed she was okay with that. Steven didn’t mind listening to her problems and he smiled when she disclosed something pleasant about her day. She still used the tape recorder Amethyst let her borrow, but not as often as she had used to. She talked to Steven before his bedtime, and anytime in between when the mood struck her. And Steven always listened.

ii.

Rose told Garnet that she had a natural talent for herding. Garnet had shrugged at this, a long strand of hay between her lips.

Normally, they tried not to intervene with the humans. Rose had learned it was best to appreciate them from afar. Too many had died for her.

So when Rose asked Garnet to help the shepherd the next town over, she was surprised, her future vision cloudy. She nodded and went to work. She took the shepherd’s crook in her hand and guided the herd with a firm but steady hand. The herd took to her instantly, looking to her for guidance and affection. They grazed in soft pastures, safe under her three eyes.

She didn’t understand the point of this task and never asked Rose, and her future vision was oddly cloudy when she tried to search for the meaning of this exercise.

Only when Rose was gone and Steven was there did she realize why Rose had her herd the sheep; Pearl clung to her and Amethyst kept asking her when Rose would be back. She wasn’t confident in what she was doing, but Rose had believed in her. She took solace in that. She let Pearl hold onto her and she told Amethyst the truth. She was the leader now; they had flocked to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, this collection is closed! Thank you for the kudos, comments, and reading. Thank you for joining me on this journey. Let's continue it in a new collective:
> 
> Beyond Our Star  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/5643799


	100. Untitled l Steve, Connie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fic where Steven and Connie are both Ace and Connie is confused about what their relationship is, being influenced by her college peers. I held onto this meaning to finish it but I don’t think I will.

“Long distance relationships just don’t work,” her roommate said.

Connie opened her mouth to speak but Lily was the type to talk over others, her words like an avalanche. “My friend Molly– her girlfriend cheated on her after two months apart. And mine, well. I got tired of waiting.” She shrugged for emphasis but Connie was undeterred. Lilly saw it in her eyes. “You’ll see.”

The conversation had come up because Lily wanted to know more about Connie. She drilled her for questions and once almost everything was said, Connie’s new roommate asked, “You got someone special?”

“Like a boyfriend?” Connie asked, cheeks reddening. There was more to her hesitation than embarrassment. She and Steven were close but she didn’t know if boyfriend was the correct term. “Jam Buds” did not appease Lilly, who rolled her eyes and said, “So, boyfriend.”

Connie’s lips moved into a frown she wasn’t wholly committed to. She wasn’t sure if she should have corrected Lily. It was true that she and Steven had held hands since she could remember and they had kissed and cuddled under covers. But they’d done nothing more and Connie didn’t have any desire to do more. Steven seemed content with that. The subject had never been broached, but Lily’s comments brought thoughts and insecurities Connie had never considered before.

Connie mulled over it until she decided to call Steven that same night.

“Sorry to call you so late.”

“It’s okay. I’m playing the remake of Golf Quest Mini– I can’t stop playing.”

“Have you been playing since I left?”

She imagined him shrugging. “Pretty much.” And then, “Is everything all right, Connie? Are you homesick?”

“A little,” she admitted, but that wasn’t why she had called. “Hey, Steven… I wanted to ask you something.”

Through the phone, she had faintly heard the background music of the videogame, but now it was silent. Steven had paused the game, hearing the faint urgency in Connie’s voice.

“Go on,” he encouraged.

Connie raked a hand through her hair, sucking in a breath. She sighed, biting the inside of her cheek. “What are we?”

Silence, and then, “What do you mean?”

“It’s just– my roommate was talking about boyfriends and then…”

“Connie, I’m going to come over right now.”

Connie’s eyes widened. “Wha–”

The line went dead and within the next minute a flash of pink light washed through her window, illuminating the night sky. Connie pressed her nose to the glass and tossed her phone aside. She ran down the stairs and burst through the door, Steven and Lion waiting for her outside.

“I hope this isn’t a bad time,” Steven whispered, now realizing he probably should have asked first.

Connie shook her head. She was quiet, out of breath and speechless. This was exactly what she needed, to see him again, even though it had only been a day. She had classes in the morning but she didn’t decline a stroll through the strawberry battlefield. The history of the grounds was dark, but it smelled sweet with promise. They ate strawberries under the moonlight and Connie told Steven everything: about her dorm room, Lily, and their conversation.


	101. Untitled l Pearl, Connie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to be a ship fic but it feels more gen to me. Unfinished piece.

Pearl thought she had taught Connie everything. They were evenly matched in the arena and Connie’s form was flawless. She was proud, but a tinge disappointed. Connie’s training was one of things she looked forward to during the week. They still sparred, but Pearl was at a loss for what else she could teach the girl.

Until Connie’s car broke down on the way back home from Steven’s. It had barely made it off the beach when the engine sputtered and smoke crept out from under the hood. All Connie could think was that she hadn’t made enough at her summer job to pay a mechanic when Pearl knocked on the driver’s side window. She had followed the trail of smoke and before she had even lifted the hood of Connie’s car she had formulated a plan to repair the vehicle. The smoke smelled distinct. The engine was shot.

“You’ll need a new engine,” she said when Connie rolled down the window. “May I look at it?”

Connie nodded, speechless, and pulled the lever to unpin the hood. Pearl didn’t flinch at the heat as she lifted the hood up and propped the bar in place. After a look, Pearl emerged from under the hood, a black streak under her eyes.

“I’ll need a few other items to repair your vehicle, Connie.” She began to list these items but Connie wasn’t listening. She was asking, “Can you teach me?”


End file.
